Love Has a Name

What is the antidote to pride? Humility.

This is the second post on the ugly and deadly sin of pride with a touch of the easy way to receive freedom from it. My previous post spoke about the fact that when we take such immense satisfaction in our own achievements or accomplishments it is really easy to give in to pride and subsequently take the glory away from the Lord and give it to ourselves.

I do say as well that I wholeheartedly believe that there is no sin in acknowledging our achievements and being proud of who we are, who we have become or what we have accomplished. However, the fine line is fine because we must remember Who gave us the knowledge, the skills and the abilities to achieve such success. Ultimately answer the “Why” question and inevitable it is because of Jesus, as such, He must receive all the glory.

As I mentioned the last post was about how pride can be internalized and can be a personal and internal challenge. Today let’s discuss how pride affects ourselves and others.

Romans 12:16 CEV shares my sentiments extremely well.

“Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people.”

As I mentioned previously, my first post was about how pride can be internalized and how this ugly sin ultimately affects our relationship with God. I now want to express how pride can affect not only our relationship with God but also our relationship with others, which in turn affects our relationship with the Lord.

As Romans 12:16 states we are called to be friendly with everyone. In black and white without question. We are called to the highest standard there is. A higher standard than our culture demands, higher than what we can admit of ourselves and much higher than what could be justified.

I say what could be justified because it is easy to be nice to those who are nice to you, but, how about those who are not nice to you? Are you friendly with them? Do you put others down when they are not as smart as you or have not had the advantages you have had in receiving a good education, or in fact any education at all? How about friendly with people who oppose your ideas or even think your belief in Jesus is stupid or insane?

The culture today says to us that it is ok to reject those who are rude, condescending or hard to get along with. We are told that as long as we are happy and nice to people that is all that matters. I reject that because it doesn’t go far enough. If in forgiveness we are to forgive people 7×77 times then I believe our efforts to be nice, love and be friendly with people who challenge us must be the same or at very least extremely similar. How will we know if that person needs to see a smile 100 times before their heart finally opens up?

What if you smile at someone 5 years after you meet them and this becomes the defining moment in their life? What if that is the reason they saw followers of Jesus differently.

You never know.

While there are circumstances which I believe God allows us to remove people from our life. Albeit I would say that those instances are significantly miniscule compared to what society permits.

So how is pride intertwined here? Let me share.

When we see others we don’t agree with, others we think or believe we are better than or smarter than, how do we interact with them? If we are not friendly, loving and Christ-like in our interactions with them we can become proud. In an instant we can forget Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV…

^“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.“

It is all a gift from God so that noone may boast. This means your education, your common sense, your goodwill and yes your ability and skill level. These are all gifts from God. God has given each of us skills and abilities, all with the intention of helping others and giving back to them, to Him. This is the call on our lives as Christians. To be of service and serve and not to be served. (Philippians 2)

If Jesus did it, can we not at least try? Can we not try to be completely of service and lose ourselves in the mystery and confidence of the cross of Jesus Christ? I think we can and I strongly believe we are called to!

I will openly admit to anyone I speak with and minister to that I am not perfect and some days are better than others. Some are extremely joyful and exciting while some days are sad, painful and disheartening. One thing never changes however.

When I feel distant from God it is I who has taken a step away, not Jesus.

I hope that by reading these posts on pride you have gained some insight about how God views pride and how it can be damaging to ourselves and to our relationships not only with others but also with Jesus himself.

Jesus came and humbled himself before all of mankind knowing that he would be slaughtered. It is therefore our job to humble ourselves in front of him and acknowledge the gifts, life and love he freely poured out for us.

I pray that we can all pour our hearts out to others humbly while we focus on the cross with the utmost confidence and peace of the finished work of Jesus that day at calvary.

As we walk humbly and learn humility we are confronted with ourselves and that can be challenging. I promise you however that if you can be vulnerable with yourself and in front of the Lord, you will be free of so much pain, pressure, fear and anxiety.