“Are you proud?”

So, what exactly is “pride”? Let me briefly address this: Pride is an emotional response to one’s own achievements and abilities. Notice the word “own.”And now, bam! God steps in and says, “For what gives you the right to make such a judgement? What do you have that God hasn’t given to you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT)  

And because God seems to find this especially important—or it particularly bothers Him when we become proud—He adds: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT), because if God doesn’t help us, things can fall apart quickly (see Psalm 127:1).

Sooooo, now that that’s clear, the question remains: “Where in my life have I become proud of myself—and not thankful for what God has done?” 🤔 Do you realize it’s a gift from God that you have a home, car, or anything else you have? 🎁 Or do you think, “I worked HARD for this MYSELF”?Do you realize it’s a gift from God that you woke up healthy today? Or do you think, “It’s the vitamins I take every day MYSELF”?Isn’t it true that when things go wrong, we quickly turn to God and blame Him: “Why are you allowing this?” Or even,“Please, please help me.” 🙏 But when everything is going well, we quickly say, “Yeah, I worked hard for this.” A “Thank you, God, I know it was You” is rarely heard, right?Oh friend, I include myself in this, too... We forget God when things are going well and complain when things are bad... this, too, is pride. Because, in the end, it’s all about our OWN well-being.

But the Bible says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 NLT) God will give to the humble what He will take from the proud.And so I encourage you and myself today with the words from James 4: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:10 NLT)  

Amen.