A Prejudice Against Pride

I tend to be a very prideful person. It comes from being a descendant of Adam and Eve. I do not always let that pride show in my actions and attitudes, but it is there. It is there when I decide that I am going to eat the extra snack that I know I shouldn’t eat. It is there when I decide that I am going to take that last box of whatever off the grocery store shelf even though it is obvious that someone else is shopping for the same item. It is there when I decide that I am going to spend an hour reading instead of doing housework. And most assuredly, it is there when I decide to ignore God.

Oh, I often convince myself that I am not choosing to ignore God, I simply do so unintentionally. Yet, I am still ignoring Him and that is a choice. A choice motivated by pride. One of the many places that God warns us about pride comes from a teenage girl blessed beyond her wildest imagination and still humble in her reaction.

“His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has lifted up the humble.” (Luke 1:50-52 NIV)

These words were part of the celebration that Mary had with her relative Elizabeth after learning that she would be the mother of God’s Son. She had been chosen because of her humility, and her humility stayed in tact throughout the ordeal. Mary does not point out that God has lifted up the humble as a way of false humility, but as praise to God for what He has done for her and was doing in her. Through humility, God extended His mercy towards her.

The most convicting part of Mary’s song is the reminder that God knows when we are proud in our inmost thoughts. See, that is often the only place that my pride can be seen. But it is still there. That is what false pride is – our inner-most thoughts of pride surfacing as humility.
It is my desire and my goal this year to seek God in all that I do, to eliminate pride in my innermost thoughts by focusing on God and not on myself. This blog will show my heart. A heart that hopefully will become more and more pure as I become more and more like my Savior.