Pride of Life

Thinking about pride today -
Thinking about the phrase "power corrupts" - wondering why people are drawn to that prideful spirit in a certain political figure in the news right now.  It makes me feel sick inside to listen to him. Praying for God to bring up a humble man who can lead with wisdom.

Turning my thoughts to Moses. He was under constant criticism yet obviously well loved.  Loved not just by the people but by God Himself. He was a meek man, the Bible says.  I can't imagine him holding his rod over the Red Sea to part in timidity.  So meekness must not equal a timid spirit. So I wonder how to be a humble servant like Moses or like George Washington.  Or even like the French King Louis IX.  We don't always think of the French as having humble kings.  The images of the French monarchy are usually of Versailles or Marie Antoinette in all their excesses.  But Louis IX was the monarch in the mid-13th century.  He was known for his humbleness and his generosity.  There are stories of him kissing the hands of lepers as he passed them in the streets.  That may be an exaggeration, but he is well-known for his generosity to the poor and the sick, his devotion to God, and his humility.

Thinking about pride in our own lives.  All the posters on Facebook "2016 - the year Americans were offended by everything".  Why do we allow ourselves to be so offended? It's our pride.  Our need to be right and by default, you're wrong.  It's present in my own heart.  And I see it all around me - while driving, at the grocery store, waiting in line for coffee - on social media - and worst of all in our conversations at church.


My "heart language" of the Bible is from the King James version because those are the verses I memorized as a child.  So I close with this verse I've known since I was young.  "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." (Philippians 2:3)
           or think of it this way:
"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care - then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.  Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top.  Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage.  Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."