Today I am thinking about pride. Not the good kind of pride, not the kind that comes in a job well done, or the kind a dad feels as he watches his son achieve a worthy goal. I'm thinking about that other kind; the dark kind.
Religious, Intellectual, Economic, Social
I'm thinking about the kind of pride that rises up and refuses to yield even when logic is screaming that it is in the wrong. I'm thinking about the kind of pride that stops ears and refuses to listen, the kind that digs in its heels and ignores everything but self.
Sarcastic, Condescending, Mocking, Belittling
It is this dark pride that loves to follow Jesus - as long as He is going my way - but if or more accurately, when the path turns - look out! When Jesus says or does something that goes against my grain - that is when I discover the identity of my one true LORD.
As a younger man bent on achieving my own warped definitions of success I used to "confess" that "Things go my way". It was great - until they didn't.
C.S. Lewis said, "Pride robs a man of common sense." and I would wholeheartedly agree. What of God in this case. Does He humble a man or does He create the circumstances that lead a man to humble himself? I'm not sure, maybe you have an opinion you'd be willing to share. I like these words of Ravi Zacharias, "Wherever there is a proud man, there is a sovereign God working behind the scenes."
A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honour. (Proverbs 29:23)
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