Things I Struggle With - Pride
One reason I started this blog was to encourage and edify other Christians. Another reason was to be a voice of reason in the techno-jungle of our modern society. So many people don’t know Jesus because they are running under preconceived notions about Christians. I want to give an inside look into the everyday Christian life, the struggles and the joys.
One of the area’s I struggle with is pride. Pride is a terrible thing. It makes you think you are more important than you are. If you need some clarification on this issue you should check out Louie Giglio’s Indescribable video, which can be viewed in it’s entirety here. Louie makes the point that we are all infinitesimally small compared to God. The only part of ourselves that is large is our pride and in turn our ego. God is great and we aren’t, it is that simple. I will assume you have watched the video at this point (if you haven’t you really should, it is…well…indescribable 
) and we are now all on the same page with how small we are compared to God.
Pride seems to me to be the root of most, if not all, sin. Think about it. Pride leads to the feeling that you are more than a small spec of dust in space. Pride makes you think that you are important, when in reality you are not. The Church today seems to want to tell you that you are important and that God misses you, and, if you can find the time, you should find a way to fit him into your life. In reality it is the other way around. God is important and you should find a way make him the center of your existence while humbling yourself before him to ask continuously for his favor and forgiveness.
Forgiveness for what? You might say? Why forgiveness for every minute of your life! God is perfect, perfect! We on the other hand cannot go five minutes without sinning. God cannot be directly associated with things that aren’t perfect. God wants to continue being associated with us, but because he is perfect, and we aren’t, he can’t associate with us. This is where Jesus comes in. Jesus’s death and resurrection covers up the sin in our life, which in effect filters out the sin so we can associate with God. Without Jesus all hope of communicating with God is gone. Yet, even with Jesus in my life pride keeps me from seeking out God! Pride insists that I can live my life on my own without communication with God.
So, I ask myself, “what will it take to rid myself of pride?” The answer? Divine intervention. God will have to humble me. Oh man! Who in today’s culture wants to be humbled? Who of you looks at humbleness as a sign of strength? In today’s culture pride is looked upon as a virtue! And yet which personality trait do you find more attractive in a person, pride or humbleness? I would bet that the person who you find the most charming is humble person. The ones who are pridefull typically put people off. Do you think this is a mistake? Nope, God planned it all along.
So, I have started asking God to humble me. I just pray the process isn’t to painful.
Now it is your turn. In what area’s do you struggle? Do you struggle with pride? Feel free to post your answer in the comments below.
- Sean
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Pride is likely at the top of the list. It is the root of most of the other things and all other things could be tracked down to pride. self-sustainment. I struggle in prayer. why do I struggle with prayer? because to pray is to humble yourself and recognize that without Him, you are lost and that you need HIM to sustain you. Now, I doubt that there are many Christians who would go about stating that they are above prayer. I don’t think that is the case. If we were honest, we would just not talk about it if possible. But, in my experience, I don’t pray often or with consistency. Why is this? because I practically, in every day life, don’t fully depend on God. I say I do. I want to at some level. What will it take to make me that way? I fear what it is going to take to humble me in this area. I recognize it and I am attempting to make efforts. But when things get difficult and hard, sometimes prayer is the last thing I think of because I am trying to figure out how to make it through, how to stand up under the weight of life and the things that come my way. So Pride is a huge obstacle that keeps me from God, in prayer, in faith, in dependence, in trust. May God humble me to be dependent and trusting in Him.
t
Louie Giglio - I LOVE LOUIE. Well - I did - back in the day - so that name is a blast from the past for me. Isn’t it amazing the things we seem to have in common - I didn’t know you knew who he was. Anyway - I ramble. I just looked up the 268 website and ordered a CD. Thanks for the reminder of this great man of God. Someday when I get a computer at home and am a member of the 21st century I will be able to download his messages to listen to.
Vickie