The Prodigal's ReturnSample

Pride

Kim Harmon

[Psalm 10:4 NIV] In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.[Proverbs 16:5 MSG] God can’t stomach arrogance or pretense; believe me, he’ll put those braggarts in their place.

A part of me likes to laugh at all the stupid things I have done in my life. The problem is that many of those things are not comical, and they directly contradict what is right in God’s eyes. Because of my pride, I did not seek God at the moment when I made a bad decision. My thoughts were selfish. I made no time to consult God. I was impulsive. I was wrong. In addition, there was pride in my lies in trying to keep my sin secret.

The Bible talks often of humility and of pride. Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride says, “I’ve got this. ”Humility says, “God, I need Your help. ”Pride brags and says, “Hey, watch this” as we do something crazy. Humility says, “God, help me do things that bring life to others. ”Pride says, “I accomplished because I am so smart and better than others. ”Humility says, “God, thank you for blessing me with confidence and tools to be good at what I do. ”Pride is relationally selfish and always has to ‘win’ the argument. Humility listens to others, finds common ground, and wise compromises. Pride creates drama. Humility creates solutions. Pride comes before the fall. We always seem to know what is best in our lives. Pride takes the leap without a safety net. Pride wins at the expense of others. When we are away from God, when God is not directing our paths, we believe we are doing what is smart, what is best, or what we can brag about. While these words may seem harsh, there is a clear distinction between our lives left to our demise and God’s plan for our lives. In fact, the very point of these verses is that we are far from God in our pride. God always loves us. God will always try to find us and bring us back to Him.

The more I am in God’s word and with His people, the more I put pride in its rightful place….in my rearview mirror.

God, help me to only boast of what You can do through me. All my strength comes from you. Amen.