it’s like staring into the sun…

I once heard a preacher compare pride to a person staring directly into the sun.  He said this because someone who is consumed with pride does not see it.  Everyone around them can see it;  people may even be telling them about it, but they still cannot see it.  With this in mind, we can see how pride is a great deception.  It makes one blind to the obvious!  The scary thing about pride is that it always comes before a fall, as the Bible says (Proverbs 16:18).  The more pride within one’s heart, the more miserable and humiliating their fall will be. 

The question here is this: ”What is pride and do I unknowingly have it?”  Pride really is simple; it is considering yourself better than you should.  With that in mind we can assume that we all struggle with pride to some degree.  However, there are those who have so much pride in their hearts that they cannot even see that it is there!  Pride has nothing to do with being secure in who you are.  In fact, the most prideful people are often the most insecure people. Think about it, they feel insecure from childhood or whatever the factors are, so they focus in on areas that they feel good about  (perhaps maybe their looks, their talents, their brains, their skills, their ministry, etc…) and avoid the areas they feel inadequate in. 

When we do this though, we start to look only at our strengths and avoid thinking about our weaknesses.  The longer one does this, the more they feed their ego.  The more one feeds their ego, the more they are convinced (in their heart) of their “greatness” and lack of need.  If you never admit to short comings or weaknesses or maybe just that someone is better at something than you are, than you begin to feel as if you can do everything yourself and you don’t need anyones help.  Pride, at its worst, is rejecting everyone’s advice and help because you are convinced that you know more than everyone else.  This is a scary place to be if you are a Christian!!!  Why? Because God desires His people to walk in humility!  Now, many people think of humility as insecurity and lack of confidence, but that thinking could not be more wrong.  Humble people can be very secure and confident individuals, but they know their short comings, weaknesses, and great need for others and God!  This is where God wants us!  He wants us to find our strength and confidence in Him.  He wants us to allow people to operate in their gifts and talents without jealousy or being threatened.  A humble heart is the opposite of insecurity.  It is not afraid of looking weak or stupid because it finds its “greatness” in God!

Humility is simply admitting that we as human beings are in great need of God and others.  Jesus Himself humbled Himself by coming to this earth as a human being, making Himself dependent on His mom and dad as a child, dependent on eating and drinking for survival, dying a death He did not deserve, and loving people who rejected Him to His face.  Jesus was the most humble man of all, but He walked tall in knowing that God is His Father and He is never alone.  Humility is following closely after the character of Christ, admitting our dependence on Him and our need for others.  Sometimes this means asking forgiveness of others you have pushed away in pride; perhaps asking forgiveness from God (for pushing Him away) as well. 

If you have found yourself in a humiliating situation, perhaps God is trying to humble your heart so that it better reflects His.  Remember, He loves us too much to leave us as we are!  As a Christian, humilty is not really a matter of choice.  It is one of those character traits that God enforces.  One can either humble themselves (which would be a lot less of a painful process) or God will humble you for you at some point.  God will not let His people get away with pride and arrogance.  If we refuse to walk in humility; God will not hesitate to humiliate you.  This is not God being mean; rather, it is God having mercy on your soul.  It is God teaching you how to be a true follower of Christ.  The amazing thing about humility is that if we do it ourselves, God will lift us up!

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” -1 Peter 5:6