This week marks the end of the journey we have taken through the ReEngage class at Trinity Baptist Church. Of all the things I have learned about myself over the last 16 weeks, the most humbling one has been realizing just how un-humbly I have been living my life.
If you had told me in August, “Tina, pride is at the root of every relationship problem you have … be it with your spouse or with a friend or colleague,” I would have laughed. I considered myself a fairly humble person.
I love this verse in the Bible, and I thought I was living it.
****Colossians 3:12****
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
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Boy was I wrong.
Sometimes that’s our biggest problem. It’s hard to see our own faults when we don’t really recognize how they are manifested in our lives.
Pride, also known as ego, is when we do things with the underlying purpose of wanting to be praised, get glory, or be worshiped. As it turns out, God didn’t design us to be any of those things. God designed us to become Christlike so that we can praise Him, give Him glory, and worship Him.
But pride isn’t just about being the center of attention as an ego-driven maniac on the path to world domination. It’s also about being an ego-driven maniac on the path to self destruction.
Take a moment to let that sink in.
So be it a path of self-hatred and low self-esteem or a path of self-centeredness and high-self worth, pride has a funny way of manifesting itself in our lives and destroying our relationships.
****Philippians 2:3****
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
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Those are such powerful words.
Can you imagine how much better every relationship you’re part of would be if you came from a place of humility where you truly valued the needs of others above yourself? Where your internal self identity was not defined by how others make you feel, but instead by how you can serve others?
It’s what we are called to do as Christians.
When we don’t do it, we allow Satan into our hearts. In doing so, we slip a little further away from Christ. We slip further away from our ability to let our light for Him shine. And we push those we love away from us in the process.
Dennis F. Kinlaw put it this way, “The shift in commitment is never from Christ to evil; it is always from Christ to self. And instead of his will, self-interest now rules and what I want reigns. And that is the essence of sin.”
Ouch! That hurt a bit when I reread that note I wrote as I was reflecting on this amazing journey of both personal and spiritual growth.
We are all sinners, and we live in an imperfect world. Every person whose feelings I have hurt recently, and every time I have let my feelings be hurt by others, I have recognized was rooted in pride.
I wish I could say today I live every aspect of my life from a place of true humility. I wish I could say I was the epitome of the two Bible verses I just shared.
I am far from it. But I know what pride looks like now as I continue on my path to becoming more humble and Christlike. As the great G.I. Joe used to say, “…and knowing is half the battle.”
