The Pride Problem.

Tonight, I was talking with a few friends about pride.  I know it's a touchy subject, but if I'm correct it is also something we all deal with at some point or another.  Pride is a disease...it eats at us and makes us feel invincible, but if so, for all the wrong reasons.  It disarms our ability to do greater things and love other people because we are too consumed with loving ourselves. Almost everything, I would argue, becomes an internal discussion of "what can I get out of this?" or "how will this make me look better?" Pride does not do what we think it should. We look at it as a way of seeming confident, but sometimes the aroma is more arrogant because it is masking what we really feel.

The times I have seen pride most prevalent in my life are the times that I am most unwilling to admit my own weaknesses, but quick to point them out in others.  I'm not suggesting that it's wrong to lovingly point out pride to a fellowman - but when it is only to ignore the fact that you are equally as prideful as him, that's where it gets hazy. So why? Why be prideful - after all, Jesus says in Luke 18:14 that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Who then would choose pride over exaltation? Any ill-reasoned man. See, he is also the man who thinks from this notion that pride can lead to exaltation. But, he lacks the focus on what Jesus says here - you can't have your pride cake and eat it too. God cannot be mocked.

Pride creeps in. It's not something that just appears and you can recognize it. If that were the case, none of us would have a pride problem.  I know for me, the cause of my pride was fear and laziness. First, I feared what I would find if I faced my pride and admitted that I was weak...me, weak, never! Besides that, I was lazy. Dealing with pride took  work. It took an understanding of who I am compared to God, and it put me in my place again. Fixing a pride problem requires humility (the opposite of pride) to acknowledge that it, your pride, exists. Furthermore, it then requires your willingness to do something about it. No one said it would be easy, but without it, it's not a very fulfilling life, I learned that.

So what's causing you to be prideful? How does that hinder you from choosing to live a more meaningful life instead of comparing yourself to others, and others to you? What can you to serve instead of being served? Be a blessing.