Watch Out--Your Pride is Showing

Readings: Proverbs 2:1-9, Ephesians 5:15-21

There's a somewhat ridiculous trend that has taken our country by storm in the past several years. You don't need to look very far to see it--perhaps only as far as the nearest bumper sticker.

"Proud parent of a honor student"

What's wrong with this, you ask? 

Pride--a word that has run rampant in this country and not for the good, unfortunately. 

Look at the Bible for references of pride...did they ever turn out in a good way? Not exactly. In fact, in chapter after chapter, verse after verse, we are told that humility, not pride, is our chosen path.

Pride has become the catch word for life in our society. I'm proud of this; I'm proud of that. I have pride in my work; I have pride in my possessions. Pride, pride, pride...it goeth before the fall...and we're falling folks, we're falling.

Our country is at a cross-roads and we're riding that pride train to our doom. With pride comes a great sense of independence--another word we use ad nauseam in our lives. We're not, if we are truly followers of God and Christ, meant to be truly independent. We are meant to be interdependent, trusting, and faithful to our Father who is in heaven.

Proverbs 2:1-9 gives us the benefits of being good, moral people in a fallible, pride-filled world: "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path."

We say we are a nation under God--are our actions exemplifying that? We have a tendency to point out others' shortcomings while, at the same time, overlooking our own in the name of pride. As a result, more and more of our neighbors around the world are looking at us with a very skeptical eye; we're not exactly practicing what we preach. Pick up a newspaper, turn on the tv or radio, listen to anyone within earshot and do we hear humility and a sense of humbleness in daily living? Hardly. We instead hear "how proud I am", or "how much I deserve this" (self-pride). How can we boldly stomp around this planet in the name of being one nation under God while, at the same time, our most basic moral necessity of humility is fading? There are growing numbers of religious groups that see us as hypocrites, as allowing our basic tenets of beliefs being over-ridden by one-upmanship in the workplace to the point of insanity, a lack of interest when it comes to giving more than possessing...simply put, we're not practicing what we're preaching to others. Someone is in need of food, warmth, clean clothing--we decide they don't deserve it, they don't take care of themselves--they don't take pride in themselves or their possessions. Maybe we need to start thinking more about what we can do in humility, not what they're not doing in the name of pride.

We've allowed our sense of pride to ignore our need to follow the words and commands that are "stored up within us" these days--we've drifted. Way, way off course.

We are all graced with wisdom--if we use it. In our wisdom we know that the world, for the most part, is an evil place, full of chest-thumping and prideful nature. In our wisdom, we also know that we don't have to increase the evil--we have the innate ability to think. We're not a bunch of those notorious lemmings that blindly line up and follow where those with a little quicker wit and sharper tongue will encourage us to go in the name of being #1. Don't like what's going on around us, locally and/or nationally? Then do something about it. But remember to look with a very objective eye at every situation before speaking out...then speak out after prayer for God's wisdom. Make sure your ideas come from God, not from man. And allow all thoughts and deeds to be humble...not "I'm proud to be doing this, but rather I'm humbled to be doing this.

Then we're back on the right road and the journey becomes smoother. We give the glory where it needs to be given--to God and not to ourselves.


Peace be with you.