Pride Can Be Deadly

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

(Proverbs 16:18)

Meditation

I confess I should stamp this verse on the back of my hand, so I’m reminded of it every time I’m tempted to let pride rule my actions. Anything I do, every ability I have, every task I complete, is all possible because of God. I can do nothing on my own. Before I was saved, I used to love to pat myself on the back for my accomplishments at work. I would brag about promotions and accolades from my employers. I didn’t give credit to my Creator for the talent I possessed. Then it was taken away after I got hurt. It was too painful to sit at a desk for any longer than a few minutes. I was forced to go on disability. That was over twenty years ago. This all happened before I was saved, and I was thrown into severe financial difficulties, which exasperated an already shaky marriage. I was definitely brought low because, whatever talents I had were useless to me, while spending most of the day laying flat on my back.

God provided a path to redemption through Jesus Christ and I continually turned it down. One of the most common reasons I refused the free gift of salvation is because I was too proud to admit that I need Jesus to save me. I am a red-blooded American male who is supposed to be able to solve my own problems; be able to provide for my family. The thought of turning over my life to an invisible power seemed ridiculous to me. I actually questioned the sanity of a few friends who had done just that. They had thought, done, and said everything I had in my checkered past. I didn’t understand how they thought they were suddenly different and leaving me behind. To be honest, I wasn’t very accepting with them about their conversion.

At some point in my life, I became slightly more agnostic than atheistic. By then, I didn’t know if I believed in heaven or live in the hereafter. If it were true, I figured I could do enough good things to get myself to heaven. Arrogant pride made me believe I could save myself. I reasoned I had never killed anyone, stolen anything of great value, so if there was a heaven, I should be good enough to go there. That’s the attitude that will lead every unbeliever straight to hell. We need to let God be our guide through all the pitfalls in this life. Pride being chief among them because it will only lead you down the wrong path. Submit to the will of God and leave your pride behind.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, only you are holy, and you alone are good. We make feeble attempts at being good, but we cannot compare to you. We are a stiff-necked and rebellious people. Please, Lord, break through our stone-cold dead hearts and bring us into submission to you. Cleanse us from the prideful need to always be in control of every aspect of our lives. Show us if we submit to you, we will always be better off, both physically and spiritually. Because we love you, and we are your representatives here on Earth, never let us use your love for us to look down on others. Unfortunately, Christian history is littered with prideful men and women committing wrongs in your name. Help us to always act in humility as we do our good deeds in Jesus name. We pray for a second chance with those who were turned off by something we said in an arrogant way. Forgive us when we want people to think we know more than we do because of pride. Keep our ears open to the voice of the Holy Spirit as he tries to lead us away from having a haughty spirit. In Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen!