No one likes to be humbled, but if humility is what allows us to truly honor the Lord, then sign me up! Here are five ways that pride sneaks into our lives.
You better believe, the Lord is sure to humble those who get too big for their britches.
Can I tell you a quick story about humility?
My husband and I were newly married, and we were going backpacking with a friend of mine, and a friend of my husband’s. (Yes, we were kinda thinking of playing match-maker. No, that didn’t happen. They are both with lovely people now. I digress). As we were preparing for the trip, I admit I was feeling pretty high and mighty, like I was a super-cool chic for being a backpacker.
This was probably the closest I have ever come to hearing God speak audibly to me. In my head I heard, “You’re going to learn humility.” Oh dear. I don’t know about you, but I HATE lessons on humility. Quickly, I acknowledged my arrogance and was hopeful I could skip the lesson.
I did not skip the lesson.
While we were hiking, I fell off a boulder. And when I stood up, we all saw that my pants were torn. It was like a doorway opened on my backside, from my knee to my not-at-all-sexy panties. Humility lesson – check! My rear end brought up the rear of our hiking party. So when I say “too big for their britches,” I literally mean britches.
Pride…
Perhaps you deal with pride too? Perhaps you would like to avoid getting too big for your britches??? Here are some sneaky forms of pride…
Comparison: Thinking we are owed something
One of the parables I most struggle with is found in Matthew 20. This is the one where the master of the field hires workers at the start of day, the middle of the day, and at the end of the day. Then pays them all the same. The people hired first and worked all day are upset they were paid the same amount as those who only worked at the very end. I’m thinking, heck yeah they would be upset, I would be too! I want to be given what I am owed. I want my fair share!
The thing is, those workers were given what they were owed. The master did not cheat them, he paid them the agreed upon amount, and he paid them promptly. They only felt cheated when they were looking at what the others had received. Like them, we are happy with what we have received, until we start comparing ourselves with others.
To expose this, we must keep our focus on the Master, and show gratitude for the kindness and generosity He has bestowed upon us.
Self-Pity: Focusing on our weaknesses
How many times have I sat and moped because I was not able to do something I felt I should be able to do. I have wished to be someone else, and have felt like God made a mistake with me.
We need to be aware of our weaknesses, but not focus on them. If we are trying to fix our weaknesses so that we have it all together, or an attempt to be perfect, or to be different, then we are focusing too much on ourselves.
To expose this, we must acknowledge our weakness and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us (Romans 12). Also, it may be that we need to humble ourselves and allow the strength of others to compliment our weakness.
Self-Reliant: Thinking we have our act together
I pride myself on being self-discipline. I am a hard worker, I don’t hide away from hard things, I am diligent until the job is done.
Having self-discipline is a good thing, but it can quickly become self-righteousness. When we think we are hot-stuff, and that we got to where we are on our own, we have forgotten that we have nothing without Christ and His generosity.
To expose this, take a step back and get a different perspective. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor, that is the beauty of grace.
Recognition: Expecting others to acknowledge us
I crave approval. To the point that if I don’t receive verbal affirmation, I take it as negative. It gets interpreted in my little brain as I let other people down, or I did not do a good enough job. Some of this response is because of my love language being words of affirmation, but it is also because of pride.
We all love to be recognized, but when we base our worth on the approval of others, instead of the approval of the Lord, we have elevated ourselves. We have placed ourselves at the center, expecting others to meet our needs. This, of course, is destined to fail, and it is our egos that will end up shattered.
To expose this, we must continually shift our focus back to glorifying the Lord, and be intentional about showing love and kindness to other people.
Expectation: Thinking others are the same as us
“Why can’t she get her act together?!?” Maybe you’ve never said that out loud, but I know I sure have thought it more than once. I am quick to expect others to learn the same way I do, at the same rate, and in the same order. I am prideful when I put the pressure on for people to be the same as myself.
It has been said that the things that most annoy us about other people are the things we do ourselves. Or possibly they are things we once struggled with and were able to move past. We so easily forget the road we have traveled to be where we are. We expect everyone to have learned the same lessons we have, and in the same way.
To expose this, we need to remember the lessons we have learned, and recognize that there are still many more lessons we have yet to accomplish.
Humility…
Now that we have exposed some areas of pride that have snuck into our lives, let’s trade it in for humility. But we must be careful about trying to do this on our own. Only Christ can provide true humility. Otherwise we may just get prideful about how humble we are.
We simply can’t achieve humility on our own.
…it is only by the indwelling of Christ in His divine humility that we can become truly humble.
…external teaching and personal effort are powerless to conquer pride or create the meek and lowly heart in a person.
Andrew Murray, Humility
...external teaching and personal effort are powerless to conquer pride or create the meek and lowly heart in a person. --Andrew Murray, Humility Click To Tweet
Your turn…
No one likes to be humbled, but if humility is what allows us to truly honor the Lord, then sign me up! What issues of pride are you dealing with? Have any good “britches” stories???
This is so good! A great reminder at the beginning of my week. Thank you for sharing 🙂
God has taught me a lot about humility these past few years. I now believe that you can’t carry the power of God without humility, which is why God teaches this lesson to those who are closest to Him.
Oh boy! I can struggle with each one of these. And it is an area that I am continually seeking Christ’s help to guide me through. This is why my site’s name is Humble faith family wellness. For me to focus on the humility.
Such a great post! Thanks for sharing girl 🙂
awesome. once again hits home.
I was just writing last week about self-pity, and how jumping into a pity party leaves a terrible hangover! :). I appreciate your insights about expecting others to acknowledge us. As though we’re the center of the world. These pieces you’ve mentioned sometimes pop up in subtle ways. Thank you!
A nasty hangover, indeed! Thank you for reaching out!