Insidious Pride
This morning I spoke to the students in the NHA chapel service about pride using James 4:6. It was actually the same verse and theme we had for our Good News Club at Cotton Indian Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon. The Lord laid it on my heart to share it again in a little different way.
Many of us who are believers who are trying to do God's will may be susceptible to the sin of pride. We can look at ourselves and think that we are pretty good, because we do not commit a lot of the sins that others commit. We can even think about the good things we do, and we can come to the conclusion that we are better than other people. When we begin to have those thoughts, pride is at the door. If we begin to think we are special, and we have the ability to do these things that make us better, we have begun to have pride.
The problem is that God resists the proud. He will not let us progress with His blessings, if we have pride. In fact, He will put up barriers to show us that we are going against His will. We may do a lot of good things, but we will not have His peace or joy. We will be working in our own flesh, because He is not going to help us, if we are taking the credit for what is happening.
On the other hand, if we are humble, and we give Him the credit for everything we accomplish and for our ability to stay away from sin, He will give us even more grace. Grace is giving us more than we deserve. God does that for humble people like Moses, David, and Paul.
As a preacher, I am very susceptible to pride. People are very complimentary of my sermons, and they are grateful for my ministry. That can make me pat myself on the back and tell myself that I have a special gift. That is wrong. Without Christ, I can do nothing at all. (John 15:5) I do not deserve any credit for anything. I must be careful to let everyone know that He is the one who gives me the ability to do what I do and to resist Satan's attacks. I hope all of us will be very careful not to let pride sneak up on us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 1-2 and Mark 10:1-31.
Many of us who are believers who are trying to do God's will may be susceptible to the sin of pride. We can look at ourselves and think that we are pretty good, because we do not commit a lot of the sins that others commit. We can even think about the good things we do, and we can come to the conclusion that we are better than other people. When we begin to have those thoughts, pride is at the door. If we begin to think we are special, and we have the ability to do these things that make us better, we have begun to have pride.
The problem is that God resists the proud. He will not let us progress with His blessings, if we have pride. In fact, He will put up barriers to show us that we are going against His will. We may do a lot of good things, but we will not have His peace or joy. We will be working in our own flesh, because He is not going to help us, if we are taking the credit for what is happening.
On the other hand, if we are humble, and we give Him the credit for everything we accomplish and for our ability to stay away from sin, He will give us even more grace. Grace is giving us more than we deserve. God does that for humble people like Moses, David, and Paul.
As a preacher, I am very susceptible to pride. People are very complimentary of my sermons, and they are grateful for my ministry. That can make me pat myself on the back and tell myself that I have a special gift. That is wrong. Without Christ, I can do nothing at all. (John 15:5) I do not deserve any credit for anything. I must be careful to let everyone know that He is the one who gives me the ability to do what I do and to resist Satan's attacks. I hope all of us will be very careful not to let pride sneak up on us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 1-2 and Mark 10:1-31.