Pride and ShameSample

HOW?

As you’ve probably guessed (or experienced), there is no silver bullet when it comes to avoiding pride and shame. Likewise, there is no magic formula for pursuing the love and joy of an others-focused life, but there are some practices that can lead us in that direction.

Perhaps nothing is more powerful than the dynamic duo of Scripture and prayer. Scripture is God’s word to us, and prayer is our word back to Him. Investing time and energy into both can yield huge dividends in our lives when it comes to saying no to the flesh and walking in the Spirit of God. God’s word reminds us of who we are in Christ – our spiritual identity – and then gives us insight into how we are to live as a result. Prayer allows us to voice our love and adoration back to God, to be honest about our struggles, and to rest in the grace and favor that He offers us. These are the foundations of a Spirit-driven life.

The next step is simple but profound: obedience. Obedience is how we take the love and devotion we feel in our hearts and express it back to God. Obedience must be Spirit-led if it is to be lasting and meaningful – and obedience always means saying no to our flesh.

Other practices can help us as well, such as spending time with other believers who are walking the same journey of faith; developing habits like scripture memory, listening to Christian music, going to church, etc. – but these practices are ineffective if not grounded in a vibrant relationship with Christ that is centered around His word (reading, understanding, and obeying it) and bringing our whole selves to God in prayer. It is these practices that will truly lead us into the life we want to live.

In this way, Scripture and prayer can become both our foundation and our fortress – giving us a firm footing as we walk through life and protecting us against the pride and shame that try to lure us away from its Source. Pride and shame should no longer have control over us if we are believers in Christ, and to the extent that we allow them to control our thoughts and our actions, we are forfeiting the victory that Christ has won to overcome them.

So let’s center ourselves on Him and put our pride and shame in the rear-view mirror of His amazing grace. From time to time they may still clamor from the back seat for our attention, but they will no longer be our drivers. That seat is already taken.

Prayer: Dear Lord, how good it is to know You and to be Your child. How gracious of You to set us free from the pride and shame that would otherwise consume us. Teach us how to abide in You, how to walk by Your Spirit, and how to live a life of love and humility. Draw us close to You – so close that we are too enamored with Your grace to pay any attention to the beckoning of pride or shame. Be our everything, that we may love and serve You with our everything. In Your name, Amen.