"Pride Goeth..."

S0…what do you think about pride? Concerned? Is it dangerous or as long as we "keep ourselves in check", are we okay? If you consider yourself a God fearing man/woman, you may want to pay attention.

I can personally tell you that I have had to struggle against pride. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not talking about confidence (which can be confused by some folks as pride), but the danger of shifting one's focus onto themselves and "look at what I did” – not giving credit to Him who deserves it. For me, one of the ways I know that I’ve crossed the line into a prideful attitude is the way I react (internally or externally) when I feel disrespected. My good friend Thomas Brinsko used to make a joke of it -which I’ve stolen and frequently use..

“Apparently he doesn’t know who I think I am!”

It makes for a nice quick reflection on ourselves about the absurdity of thinking ourselves superior, or our accomplishments better, or even that somehow God has blessed us because we are somehow more deserving. This attitude needs an enema!

I’m not suggesting that we somehow judge God’s blessings as undeserved – on the contrary, I’m suggesting that our job is to fundamentally Not judge God’s blessings, but instead accept them gratefully. When Blessing is withheld, gratefully learn the lessons. We are to grow in character through plenty and lack and both can be challenging.

This came to mind because of my morning reading. It spoke about humility vs. humiliation.

“Our Lord never evidenced the slightest sign of fear or cunning or diplomacy. He was never suspicious of anyone, yet He trusted in no one except His Father. Consequently He was never vindictive, nor was He ever humiliated. It is only possible to be humiliated when we are serving our own pride.”

If we are “reading our own press clippings” and listening to the accolades of the world, we make ourselves susceptible to humiliation – because our value scale becomes based on the opinion of people. As Christians, we are called to be concerned about what God thinks, not people. If we seek first to bring God glory by doing things the right way, we will be blessed. This doesn’t always happen in earthly terms, but God always fulfills His promises.

Many maintain that pride is the root of All sin. It is a difficult concept to argue against, as it certainly is an ingredient in every one all the way back to original sin. “You want to be like God” whispers the serpent, "eat this apple". That was why Satan got thrown out in the first place, how he tried to tempt Christ, and what he uses on us.

It is often the disguise for “the roaring lion looking for someone to devour” 1Peter 5:8 – and as business leaders, recognize that we are likely targets and are susceptible. Some people can be more than willing accomplices as they stroke our egos for whatever reason.

James 4 says “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” . Submission requires humility, so we must resist with humility for the devil to flee. If we use sin (pride) to try to fight sin, we're unlikely to be successful.

Blessings to you and your business.