Let's leave PRIDE to the lions!!!

I am going to openly admit to start this, that it has taken me a LONG time to start writing this one.  This one is a hard one because it hits home REAL hard! My battle with pride is a long standing one, I have always wanted to be known for something, stand out and have everyone looking at me.  I am a very proud human being! Truthfully, humility was something I made others show me.  It was (and still can be) a terrible way to live.

"Pride goes before destruction,
    and haughtiness before a fall." -  Proverbs 16:18 (NLT)

Let me assure you, the fall and destruction does come. It comes swiftly and it comes out of no where. I remember when my life crumbled around me, and I was on my knees, tears streaming out of my eyes with no idea what to do with myself, in fact I was blubbering and blabbering so badly I had no idea that my pastor at the time could even understand me. He looked at me and with tears in his eyes he said "Oh, so you have been humbled for the first time in your life?".  There is was, realization!

I had been humbled, oh how the mighty had fallen.  There I was, the braggart, the showoff, the "greatest of all time" on my knees begging for anyone, pleading for someone, to help me. 

^"You rescue the humble,
    but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them."  - 2 Samuel 22:28 (NLT)

This, my friends, I can assure you is true. I need to be humiliated and humbled before I was able to surrender myself to God and give up my pride and love for myself.

When filled with pride and when we are self seeking, we put ourselves first, we don't care about others, and do the things that just make us happy, at least I know that is true for me and my pride.

"They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God". - 2 Timothy 3:4 (NLT)

If we love ourselves first, then how do we love God first, how do we put Him first?

"In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success." - Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)

I know in my life that is what I want,  I want God to direct me and crown my efforts with success, how awesome is that statement? 

But we in order to do this we must seek His will first, putting aside our desires, our pride and taking the route He wants us to take.

 "Seek the Kingdom of God^[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" -  Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

 

 Pride, truthfully, at least for me is really at the root of all all my perils.  Everything can almost be traced back to pride, I mean greed is just another means of showing how proud you are off all your stuff, gluttony is  the pride of food, lust is just sexual pride! Pride is what keeps us so connected to the earth, and earthly ways.  Lets be frank here, it was pride that cast the Satan from Heaven.

“You were blameless in all you did
    from the day you were created
    until the day evil was found in you. 

 Your rich commerce led you to violence,
    and you sinned.
So I banished you in disgrace
    from the mountain of God.
I expelled you, O mighty guardian,
    from your place among the stones of fire. 

 Your heart was filled with pride
    because of all your beauty.
Your wisdom was corrupted
    by your love of splendor.
So I threw you to the ground    and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings". - Ezekiel 28:15-19 (NLT)

So what better weapon for him to use then pride to make us fall from God? Over and over again, Jesus preached and taught humility, because it is when we humble ourselves that we are no longer bound to this world.

When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:  “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited?  The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” -  Luke 14:7-11 (NLT)

But Jesus went further than just to teach or preach, humility, He humbled Himself, put aside the fact if you will that He is God humbled to man, and think about this Jesus (our Lord and Saviour) washed the feet of His disciples, to prove and display His humility. 

 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.  And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.  I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.  Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. - Luke 14:7-11 (NLT)

If Jesus Christ could humble Himself to wash the feet of His disciples, it becomes real tough to justify the pride I know I carry.  Especially since all the things we do have in this world are given to us by God, not of our own doing.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.    The world and all its people belong to him. - Psalm 24:1 (NLT)

So then, if we do not own it, how can we take pride in it? It all belongs to God, and we are just His stewards.

God said it plainly truthfully, 

God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth. - Matthew 5:5 (NLT)

It really doesn't get much simpler than that! So take Tim McGraw's advice, it will probably take you pretty far in this world

Hold the door, say "please", say "thank you"
Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie
I know you got mountains to climb
But always stay humble and kind

Don't take for granted the love this life gives you
When you get where you're going don't forget turn back around
And help the next one in line
Always stay humble and kind 

PRAISE GOD!!!! 

Now I eat humble pie ...

Once I was the King of Spain as Moxy Fruvous once said, well, actually I was the king of Arrogant Island, but know I definitely eat humble pie.  It was my arrogance and my ego that was one of the most defining characteristics about the person I used to be.  I thought I could never be beaten, that nothing can defeat me, and I could overcome any obstacle or challenge in my way. It was all me, I was great.  Well, that changed, suddenly, when my world came crashing down around me and I fell to my knees crying out for help, I realized I could not overcome anything, I realized there was someone stronger, and powerful than me, God.  I remember, when it all went down, and I was crying to my pastor, totally broken, he looked at me and said, "For the first time in you life, you have been humbled" Those words resonated with me, and since then, EVERYTIME I take time to read my bible and spend time with God, I keep being reminded to stay humble.  Humility is an important aspect of Christianity that I think gets overlooked by many Christians.  If we are humble in our faith, humble in our lives how then can we judge someone else? How can we think we are better than someone else? This is a thing we are very guilty of, it is so sad to see and hear my Christian brothers and sisters, pointing fingers and calling people sinners or not good enough.  That is not who we are, that is not who Jesus was when He was on earth, nor who is everyday.  We, are humble servants of the Good Lord, Almighty, we should exalt Him, not ourselves, sing His praises, not our own.

"For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”" Luke 14:11 (NLT)

 
These were Jesus's own words. Humility is important.   Jesus, who had no reason to be, was the most humble of all people, in fact, He was so humble, He washed the feet of His disciples:

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. ⁴ So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, ⁵ and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. John 13:3-5 (NLT)

That is so powerful to me, that is just ... wow.  The Father had given him authority over everything and that He came from God and would return to God, so He washed the disciples feet! Praise God, He gives us the example of how to be humble, by being humble Himself.  How great is our God? He gives us the example of what we are supposed to do.  Yet, we chose not to follow that example, we chose to exalt ourselves, speak about how great we are and pass judgement on others, force them to live up to the standards we impose on them. Convincing ourselves that we are the judge and jury because we set such a high standard in out lives. It funny because the warning is laid out in Proverbs, if you take the time to see it.

"Too much talk leads to sin.
    Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."  Proverbs 10:19 (NLT)

I know I could probably keep my mouth shut more.  It seems the more I talk or brag the harder I almost inevitably fall. It funny that we seem to look at ourselves as perfect, and the best Christian ever, but the minute we point the finger at someone for doing something "wrong" we have lost all footing.  Bragging about ourselves and making ourselves seem righteous is not Christian living at all.

In fact, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul began by saying:

"Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ" Ephesians 3:8 (NLT)

This is the guy that wrote MOST of the New Testament and he is calling himself the least of all of God's people, then who am I to say I am anything more?  He goes on in Romans to plead with us Christians:

"Because of the privilege and authority^[a] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us" Romans 12:3 (NLT)

Honest evaluation is something that I know I would probably shy away from, I want to think I am always righteous, I am always walking to right path, but I do stray, I take my eyes off what I should be looking at, my thoughts aren't always on things that are good, and righteous and worthy of praise. I have been known to cuss out a driver who is driving too slow, or who cuts me off.  Truthfully a whole lot worse too.  It is in accepting our faults, our failures that we start to be humble.  It is when we realize that it is not me that is doing things but the grace and blessing of God that has given me the strength to succeed, that we become humble.  Once we become humble and realize how much we rely on God, how much He does for us and how everything good in out lives are blessing from Him the more He will do.  The more He can come into our lives and be the wind inside our sails. Jesus said it Himself

"God blesses those who are humble,    for they will inherit the whole earth." Matthew 5:5 (NLT)

  

The warnings about being full our ourselves are all over, our most important job on this planet is to love each other, pride is not a loving action, being a bragger is not an action of love. So, again, because all the our life lessons seem hidden (well not so much) in Proverbs, this seems like the perfect way to close my thoughts

"Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honour" Proverbs 29:23 (NLT)

I know I want honour, especially honour from God!  I think humility was the greatest lesson that I learned when I was forced from my throne as king of arrogant island, and I am so glad that I was dethroned!

PRAISE GOD!!