Pride goes before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the
poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever gives thought to the word
will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. The wise of heart
is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. Good
sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is
folly. The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness
to his lips. Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health
to the body. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way
to death. (Proverbs
16:18-25 ESV).
The journey toward wisdom teaches us that pride never leads to good things. However, it’s altogether too easy to fall into pride. This is especially true as we age. Maybe you worked hard, defied the odds, and managed to excel in some area of life, it is natural to want to scream your accomplishment to every person everywhere. It may even be a well-earned or deserved recognition that you receive, our tendency is to bask in the glory of that recognition. We become proud of what WE did. The truth is that we didn’t do anything alone.
If we begin to think
about how good we are, how good we did, how hard we worked, we often leave God
out of the picture. We start to think that we did it all on our own, and as a
result, we deserve all the attention. When we leave God out of the equation of
our success, that’s never a good thing. We should always be looking to God,
asking His advice, and seeking His approval, rather than the approval and
attention of others. It’s God’s help we should want to live out each day of our
lives. When we include Him in our success and look to Him to bring us the
belonging and attention we crave, that’s when we will be the most fulfilled.
How can we guard our
heart and mind against this trap? It begins with how we think of ourselves.
Most of the time pride is the result of a comparison between us and others. We live
in a world that prizes winning. The is nothing wrong with striving for
excellence; and, excellence is often rewarded with the prize of victory. I am
not advocating for participation trophies. We must strive to “win the race set
before us” (cf. Hebrews 12). However, winning our race is wholly dependent on
our reliance on the Lord. Pride will keep me from the real power. God doesn’t
measure me against anyone else; He knows my heart and measures me by His will
for me. Concentrate on that and you will be less tempted to fall from your
pride.
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