Pride is often the result of emotional wounds and false
concepts, which we develop over the years of our life. I noticed that the more
insecure a person is, the stronger and higher they build their wall of pride.
The sad fact about this tragedy is that this only increases their lack of
confidence.
These dear people attempt to survive life on their own.
Satan encourages people to reject God's Truth and to believe his lies instead (Romans
1:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:11). They view our concern and offers of help as pity,
which they vehemently reject. They do not understand that humility and
interdependence will give them more assurance than pride ever will (1 Peter
5:1-10; James 4:6-10).
Satan uses humanism and self-assurance to destroy people (Luke
22:31). If you suggest that people stop putting their confidence in
their natural abilities, they erupt in anger, which they use as yet another
wall of defense (Philippians 3:3). Pride does not have to
perpetuate our problems, if we simply repent and believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we will have a victorious life (Romans 10:9; Acts 20:21).
God's Word advises us not to function from selfish ambition
and vain deceit, but to humbly think of others as better than our self (Philippians
2:3). This does not mean that we act like a doormat or allow others to abuse
us; nor does it mean that we neglect our needs or inflict harm on our self. It
simply means that we take our self off the throne of our life and obey God's
Spirit as He directs us to bless others (Mark 12:31; Romans 12:10).
Prayer:
Father God, teach us that completely forgiving those who
injured us in the past, and nurturing total faith in Your faithfulness are the
only remedies for the destructiveness of pride. Once we acknowledge our need
for You in our life, we no longer feel the need to live life on our own terms
and through our own power. We no longer desire to hide behind our wall of
pride, which crumbles in the face of adversity anyway. We surrender all to You
right now and give You complete control over our life.
Thought for the Day:
The Bible emphatically states that pride ends in
destruction, because pride is an assassin, which is just waiting to destroy
our lives. - Proverbs 16:18
