Nothing increases your confidence better than knowing that you did well. Knowing that you have performed to the best of your ability gives you the stamina to walk with your head held high. We've all felt it. I was no exception last Thursday. I had studied for over thirty hours for this biology test that I was extremely worried about. It had been looming over my head all week. And I had totally owned it! I walked away thinking, "Wow! That was easy!" I was confident I had gotten my "A" and was feeling mighty proud of myself for succeeding so well in a class that has a 30% drop/fail ratio.
My hubristic moment didn't last for too long however. I walked out the door and about twenty feet later completely kissed the concrete. I was walking with my head so high that I wasn't watching my feet and tripped over a raised part of concrete and completely ate it. Right in front of a ton of people too! My pride was shattered! Actually no, it wasn't that bad. I'm used to falling on my face. Just ask the people I live with- crutches are my most constant companion.
Anyway, after the moment of embarrassment and a quick lunch of endless mockery by my dear roommate I preceded to do my quiet time. My assigned passage to read for the day? Psalm 147:6 "The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground." Nice one God!
But it got me thinking. Sometimes we do get a little too prideful. Okay, not sometimes, a lot of times. For the human race in general pride is a huge issue. And we laugh it off and joke, but it really is no joking matter. Pride is a serious issue. The gospels are constantly pointing out humility as who Christ was in His very nature. Even his birth was humble. From birth to death Christ was the epitome of humility. (Philippians 2:5-8, "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!")
This is such a contrast to pride! And yet we joke it off as only "a little bit of an ego." I think have lost the realization of the power of pride. Meaning, I think they have lost respect for it as something to be cautious against. It is a huge weapon though, that when used has eternal consequences. It doesn't just consist of a battered ego, but can have serious affects upon your soul.
It certainly affected the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-30. I've heard this passage preached on so many times as it is very applicable for the issue of greed. But I think it also applies to pride as well. This man was in a position of extreme power. He was a ruler. That's got to be a little bit of an ego boost. He asked the question, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus responded, ""Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good -- except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'" And what does he immediately say after that? "'All these I have kept since I was a boy,' he said." Boom! Right there! Pride! Before Jesus tells him to give up everything and follow him. Before the rich man becomes sad and decides not to or to do it. Before all of that, there is pride. And so many times this part is overlooked, because we all tend to focus on greed as the reason it is so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God (vs 24). But think about it, it makes sense. We all think of rich people as prideful and arrogant don't we?
Still don't believe that pride is actually a really big deal? Well, then let's go back to the king of pride himself- Satan. Pride is the backbone of why Satan fell. Read about it in Ezekial 28. It says, right there in verse 17, "Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings." This is such a contrast to Christ and His humility! You don't get more opposite than that!
I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to start praying to trip a little more often...
Proverbs 15:33, "The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor."
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