Set Me Free: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryNäide

SET ME FREE FROM MENTAL PRISONS: PRIDE Every year tearful people stand in front of the casket of someone who died sooner than anybody ever expected. When someone has passed, it is no longer possible to say, "I'm sorry." "It was my fault." "Let's not fight anymore." "I miss your friendship." Pride is a terrible master. It keeps us so aware of our own wounds and hurt feelings that we don't notice the pain in others, even hurts that we have caused. Pride makes everything always all about Me. Pride turns misunderstandings into arguments and arguments into fights. Pride makes people sullen, brooding over the changeless past. Pride seduces you into thinking that you are innocent and have it all together. Here's what St. Paul learned the hard way: "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Jesus has the cure. Jesus is the cure. First he demonstrated true personal humility. He came to our world and emptied himself of all heavenly splendor, taking the form and nature of a slave. He submitted to the laws of God and Caesar and kept them all for us. He surrendered to a miserable death on the cross of atonement. Risen and glorified, he now calls us to believe in him and to be like him, "proud" to be a humble servant. This is the cure for pride--to find joy in making other people's lives better.