Don't Let Pride Take You For A Ride

"Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire, or longing, or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in Him."  -Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine.

Looking back on our Christian walk, most of us started off great. With hearts fully committed to God, our eyes were focused on Him completely. Then perhaps, at some point, our pride began to swell up; in effect hampering us from being all that He wants us to be. We were convinced that we know better than He does.

If left to fester, pride will totally change not only our attitude toward God, but the direction that He has set for us. That's why, as believers it is so important to be cognizant of Satan's objective. And what might that be? He would like nothing better than to deeply torment and destroy our lives. Satan never rests ( 1 Peter 5:8) while on the hunt to cause as much damage as he can in the life of a believer.

It's quite fair to say that pride just might be one of the toughest things that we struggle with. It can also be quite devastating. If you think about it, many problems in our lives transpire due to pride's work. The sad truth is that many of us fail to recognize this, even becoming prideful over the favorable things God has given us (e.g., jobs, children, education, where we live, etc.)

It's no secret that God specifically detests pride. As a matter of fact, it's right up there at the top of His list of sins He hates (Proverbs 8:13). After all, it's one of Satan's favorite weapons to use because of the ease in which we take our eyes off of God, and focus on ourselves instead.

And no matter how much we try to dress it up, excuse or justify it, pride always achieves the same result: we end up being arrogant and disobedient toward God. You're probably thinking, "But, isn't okay to have pride in what I can do? I am talented and reasonably intelligent. Is it so wrong for me to take pride in my God-given talents?"

Not at all. We should have a sense of pride in doing our best. God provides us with talents and abilities to use for His glory. It goes without saying that He wants us to do our best. We couldn't ask for a better cheerleader! By using our gifts for good, we not only honor Him, but His life within us, too

Problems arise, though, when we fail to honor God with our attitudes. This is where it all starts to unravel. We start believing Satan's lies, We begin thinking that we can bring about whatever we desire apart from Him. In the end, this always leads us away from Him, and enables Satan to step right in.

Pride has many different faces. That is precisely why God warns us to be wary in our defense against it. If we open a door to it, even just a crack, the enemy will swoop into our hearts with thoughts that trick us into thinking we are much better than God desires. He wants you to have a healthy self-worth, However, He also wants you to learn how to deal with pride so you won't miss out on the blessings He has in store for you.

Scripture: Proverbs 11:2; Proverbs 16:5; Proverbs 16:18; Galatians 6:3; James 4:6

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that I won't ever be so puffed up, or full of pride that I distance myself from You. Please keep my feet on the ground, and my heart filled with Your goodness and love. Amen

God bless you always,

Shayna