"I'M RIGHT!"

Pride.... God hates pride.  Why? Quite simply, God resists the proud because the proud resist God.  You see, arrogant pride refuses to admit to being wrong. The arrogantly prideful refuses to confess to sin, refuses to repent, and never asks forgiveness from God or anyone!  

Ever have someone wrong you, and they KNOW they wronged you, but they wouldn't admit it?  They refuse to ask forgiveness or apologize.  Guess what?  The arrogantly prideful may even claim to be a Christian, yet their actions and attitudes resemble of one who wants to BE God!

Pride is a hidden danger!  It is a hidden reef that will shipwreck the soul, and drown the spirit.  Pride comes at a HIGH price!  The truly wise will not pay that high price because they choose to stand on God's offer of grace. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).  Why would the arrogantly prideful want the offer of God's grace?

Here's something to consider: Humility is happy to do what pride refuses to do.  The humble heart readily admits the need for God, willingly confesses sin, and kneels before God's mighty hand.  God keeps ALL of His promises so our hope should be unshakable.

Do You Know?

We live in a world where we are bombarded with the messages of self-reliance and the idea that we need no one.  We are encouraged to believe that we can do it all, have it all, and whoever doesn't like how we choose to live...hope the door knocks you out on your way out.  And then we wonder why we are so stressed, anxious, and struggling.

Yep, I'm talking to the mirror as well.  I gave in to that mindset for years.  I determined that I needed NO ONE to make me happy because I was the Captain of my fate!  I was the one who determined that I was the in charge of me.  And then God decided that I should really experience what my choices and arrogance meant. For several years, I felt that I could empathize with Job, because everything came crashing down around me.  

God got my attention.  And I found myself in a place where I never want to be ever again.  God and I had a real heart-to-heart and I asked Him to help me and constantly remind me of my need for Him so my arrogance would not get in the way again.  I will tell you, God didn't fix everything all at once because that would have fed right into my own self-determined arrogance that I could to it on my own.  Rather, putting my life back in order was a struggle, but God faithfully gave me the strength to climb every obstacle and brought people into my life to encourage me and pray with me.

And now, here I am relying on God for every breath and am grateful for every moment.  I need God!  So do you.

A Trip To Stuff-Mart

Prideful arrogance leads to conflict; those who heed advice are wise.

Proverbs 13:10

 

We are encouraged to take pride in our appearance, in the work we do, in the way we treat ourselves....but at what point does pride become prideful arrogance?

 

I was strolling around Stuff-Mart the other day when I was approached by a person, shabbily dressed and had a bit of a funk going on, asking if I had any change.  I didn't even bother to check, because I usually don't carry cash, so I brushed her off with a brusque "Sorry no" and kept right on with my mission.  As I wandered through Stuff-Mart, I couldn't shake that image.  Am I better than her?  Had I really become so Pridefully Arrogant that I would look on another human being with disdain?  I was so caught up with this God sent interrogation (I began to understand every so slightly how Job felt when God told him to put on his Big Boy Britches because God was going to ask Job a few questions), that I completely forgot what I had gone to Stuff-Mart to purchase in the first place.

 

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, I ended up getting some food and other supplies.  Then I went back outside and saw this person slowly trudging away.  I caught up and asked if they had a place to stay, and was told "for now" but all the money had been spend on rent and electricity.  I gave the person all that I had purchased and several phone numbers of groups who might be of help.  The tears shed by this person broke my heart all over again.

 

What have we to feel Pridefully Arrogant about?  Are we truly better than any other human being?

When Do We Seek Peace?

You, Lord, give true peace
    to those who depend on you,
    because they trust you.

Isaiah 26:3 

 

We've spent a long time hearing about riots, arguing about politics, people protesting this or that.  Then the elections began NOT with "here's what we will do to bring peace" but with "I may be a horrible person, but my opponent is WORSE!"  Now that the elections are technically over, the unrest continues.  

 

Then we deal daily with "office politics"...what some call favoritism or 'brown nosing.'  It seems that every where you turn, people are unhappy and seeking to convince others to agree with their opinion by taking extreme measures.  And during all this unrest and noise, we hear no one speaking of peace.

 

Peace...TRUE peace is the knowledge that no matter what happens, God is still God and He is in control and loves us!  When we focus on THAT, then we will begin to understand peace.  You see, peace doesn't mean I'm right and you're wrong; peace doesn't mean you're right and I'm wrong.  Peace means God's plans for us will be completed in spite of all the fighting and arguing and tantrums and inattention.  God is patient.  God loves you.  God has a plan.  God is the One to Trust (It's even on our currency).

 

Step back from the politics for just one day and focus on God's love for you.  And you will begin to sense His peace fill you.

Life Ain't About YOU!

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Philippians 2:3-4

We all know people who like to try to impress others with:
     *  who they know
     *  what they have
     *  what they can do 
     *  how much they are "suffering"
  
You name it and someone is trying to impress others with it.  But we tend to forget something, we were not put on this Earth to impress anyone!  God certainly is not impressed by anything we have, can, or will do.  Because without Him, we can do absolutely nothing...not even breathe.

Imagine how different our lives would be if you turned our attention to others instead of focusing on us.  Let's face it, God created people LAST!

I scroll through my Facebook feed every so often, and after about the fifth or sixth "I'm awesome because..." or "Feel sorry for me but I won't talk about it" post, I just stop.  

Permit me, if you will, to be blunt...we all have a brief time on this earth.  A date of birth and a date of death.  Life is determined by how we use the time between the dates!

God created each of us with unique talents and gifts that we are expected to use to help others!  When do we stop trying to be a big deal and start making a big deal out of using out gifts and talents to help others.  AND those who want to only soak up the gifts and talents of others need a real change of heart!

Okay...time for more coffee.

Have We Forgotten?

 My brothers, remember what you were when God chose you. Not many of you were wise by the way people look at it. Not many of you had power. Not many of you came from a family with a big name.

1 Corinthians 1:26 

 

Ever met someone who was so arrogant even though you knew how they were growing up?  I have.  I used to find it fun to wait until one of these gasbags started telling their tales of how great they think they are and then, drop a reminder that I know what they were like when we grew up together.  Usually one of two things would happen, the speaker would turn 10 shades of red and try to "harrumph" their way out of the situation, OR they would blush, laugh, and say "thank you for reminding me."

 

God's Word reminds us not to dwell on past mistakes, but to strive forward.  That's the whole "eyes are on the front of the face for a reason" thing.  But God also wants us to remember that we weren't always the pure and upright superstars we may think we are.  Every veteran began as a newbie!  Every sparkly diamond began as a lump of carbon! EVERYONE had an "awkward phase."

 

Remember where you are going, but also remember what God has brought you out of.

Being Humble Is A Virtue

When he noticed that all who came to the dinner were trying to sit near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: “If you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t always head for the best seat. For if someone more respected than you shows up, the host will bring him over to where you are sitting and say, ‘Let this man sit here instead.’ And you, embarrassed, will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! “Do this instead—start at the foot; and when your host sees you he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place than this for you!’ Thus you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For everyone who tries to honor himself shall be humbled; and he who humbles himself shall be honored.”
Luke 7:1-11

You've heard the song before: "O Lord, It's Hard To Be Humble When You're Perfect In Every Way".  Look around! We see people who are bent on forcing NOT the "Me First" mentality but the "ME ONLY" mentality.  We see marches and shouting and parading and posturing and rioting and pushing and shoving, but no one is listening because everyone is putting themselves first.  And how is that working?  

And guess what?  "Black Friday" is this week! Talk about a "ME FIRST" fest!  The news will report on the mobs attacking the stores and how people get trampled (some to death) all so that a few can be the first to grab the few enticement goodies that are available.  WHY has such scenes become so popular?  Because we have forgotten how to be humble!

I saw a news story, several years ago, about a youth group from a local church actually going out in the wee hours of Black Friday Morning for the sole purpose of giving out coffee and hot chocolate to those in line.  At first, all went well and people were appreciative, but it didn't take long before the group's van was swarmed with people, not wanting, but DEMANDING coffee and hot chocolate.  The news story ended with the police having to escort the group out of the area.

When will we learn?  What will God need to do to remind us that God did not HAVE to create us...He chose to.  He did not HAVE to send Jesus to pay for our wrongdoing...He chose to.  God does not HAVE to love us....He chose to.  We OWE God EVERYTHING, and He owes us NOTHING!  When we truly see ourselves from that perspective, we will learn how to be humble!