Pride of Life

I have a problem with pride…and if you look at your life hard enough, you’ll find you have some too.  Of all of my downfalls, insecurities and “growth opportunities” (basically a nice way of saying how wrong and human I really am) dealing with my pride seems to be the one that is the most out of reach.  The issue that I can’t seem to get a grasp on even to begin to address it and how it is holding me back from being 100% trusting and truthful in my relationship with Christ.

I used to think that pride was a good thing…especially since I pretty much compare everything to sports.  “I have pride in my team”…meaning I am proud to be a part of the team… “have a sense of pride”…meaning be confident in who I am and what I’m doing…but the more I read and research the word pride and especially in a biblical context I find that it’s not a good thing at all.

James MacDonald defines it this way: “Pride is the attitude of heart which exalts itself above others and above God.”

Wow.  So pride is not good.  Crap.  What have I been hanging onto all these years??  Yup, you guessed it things that I have done, my accomplishments, my awards, my talent, my intelligence…my. My. My. Me. Me. Me.  And that’s when it hit me.

Pride is me, thinking that I have done it all on my own…that I should be proud of making it this far and rising to the top by myself, when in reality it was ALL GOD.  It has ALWAYS BEEN God, it will ALWAYS CONTINUE to be God, and who am I to think otherwise?

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”- 1 John 2:15-16

This doesn’t just go for sports and athletes, although that is the easiest way to visualize it for me….it goes for money, fame, social status, schooling, relationships, family…anything.  Whatever we are, and wherever we are has absolutely nothing to do with us or what we have done, but what God chose to do in and for us.

I didn’t get into my college’s or high school’s sports Hall of Fames this year, and to be honest it stung a little that 2 women who were teammates of mine did.  Their stats weren’t as good as mine were, they didn’t have the leadership skills I did, they haven’t given back to the respective alma maters they way I have….so why did they get in and not me? When I heard about both of these women’s inductions I got angry…why?  Because my pride was hurt.  I saw my earthly value wrapped up in the worlds view: an award, 10 minutes of public recognition, and being one of a select group.  I valued that more than what God has done in me and for me throughout those years playing soccer and the years since.

But then I realized it was God who gave me the abilities to play soccer, to lead, run, breathe, communicate, encourage, and love my teammates…and it’s ultimately soccer that introduced me to my best friends, who in turn introduced me to Christ.  HE was working through it all despite my pride and my selfishness.

So are we, who are so full of pride, hopeless?  Naaaaaaaaaa, and that’s the amazing part of it all.

"And those who walk in pride he is able to humble." –Daniel 4:37

Once we realize what the heart issue is behind our pride, we can start to let God deal with it.  And honestly the most amazing part is that God is able to humble us, it’s nothing we have to do on our own…because again if we were able to do it on our own we would never truly get rid of our pride.

And it’s when we realize we have done nothing on our own and we are humble before God that we are truly able to accept and realize all He has done for us from creating us, to saving us, to sustaining us.