pride.

pride. we all have it. some have it in their children as the learn to swim, others have it in a spouse when they get a promotion, but every single one of us have it in ourselves. and we almost always have a little too much.

we're proud of ourselves. i'm proud i made it out of bed this morning. i'm proud i got to work on time. but most of all, i'm just proud. i admit i am a prideful person.

in C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianty, Lewis describes pride as the greatest of all sin. it is the sin that all other sins stem from. hear me in this, i'm not trying to say that being proud of your children or your significant other, or even on occasion yourself is bad or even sinful. but this is what i'm saying, an overabundance of pride is the root of many more sins.

some of the ways Lewis describes pride in Mere Christianity:
the complete anti-God state of mind.
the pleasure of being above the rest.
enmity to God.
not yet completely contented with your own admiration, you must put yourself above others.
eating up every possibility of love, contentment, or common sense.

rather, when we turn to the Book of Life and look at the roots of the original Greek words for humility:
bowed down
modesty
lowly
reduce to a plain
behave in an unassuming manner
deferring servilely to others
having a humble opinion of ones self

do you see it? that when we are proud, we are fighting against God, we are yearning to receive all admiration from those around us, to be better, to be prettier, to be more "holy."

but when we are humble, we are modest, we behave in an unassuming manner, we want to serve others, we don't think less of ourselves, but we think more of others.

trust me. i don't have this figured out, no way no how. but i'm working on it. and already God has shown me, gently, many of the ways i think i am above others. how i think my opinion matters so much more, that i think i could do things so much better, that no way would i ever do what that person did.

but i do. i think those things all the time. i'm imperfect. i'm proud. i boast in myself. i take pleasure in being above the rest. and it's all sin.

do you see it in your heart?

it's okay if you do. you should. because we all need to be humbled. we all need to humbly fall in front of the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness and be made clean so we might be alive with Christ.

first peter five: ten
and the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 

sometimes we can't help but not recognize our pride. and every time, when we suffer through the humbling process, the Lord restores us and makes us strong, firm, and steadfast in His love.

recognize it for what pride is. sin. bring it before the Lord, ready to give your prideful heart to Him. because the things he can do with it might be scary, but they're incredibly worth it. promise.