A Ruthless Thief

"[The Pharisees] loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." John 12:43

   As a man, it is really easy for me to want to be told frequently how awesome I am. I love having my ego stroked. I desire words of affirmation. I want to know that I am needed. But often, this desire for affirmation turns into a malignant pride which spoils everything in my life. Soon things turn sour; they don't mean as much because they are never enough. When I seek the approval of men more than I do the approval of God - which I do a lot, I must confess - I am essentially leading a cosmic coup against my Creator because I am stealing the throne of my own life. Pride will do that in you if you let it. Pride is a thief, and it will swindle you out of every last mental, relational, and spiritual penny if you let. This is the profile on pride:


1. Pride steals your worship. You cannot worship God and yourself. No one has the capacity for two objects of worship. It is one or the other. God is clear that he alone is to be worshiped. But frequently I hear from my evil heart that I should be worshiped. That is pride, and it is idolatry.


2. Pride steals your joy. Pride is a desert. It allows no one else to take prominence in your life. You can't appreciate relationships because they never measure up. And it prevents others from becoming as valuable to you as they should be because it is afraid they might take the spotlight off you. And when you are the only one around, joy is not on the menu.

Pride is a thief.

3. Pride steals the truth. Pride is a lie. In contrast, humility is the truth. Humility is an accurate assessment of your identity. Pride says that you are greater - or even lesser (which is a form of pride) - than you really are. Everyone else can see it, but you. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic how pride can so distort our vision of reality. It is so obvious to others, but a prideful person can never seem to see how messed they have become. Pride also distorts the line between "need" and "want." You think you need something, but you really just want it really bad. Pride removes truth from the picture.


4. Pride steals safety. Pride hurts others. It puts them into a "not-good-enough" category. It is always wanting more. It asks of them things they cannot do, and when they don't live up to your expectations, shunning them, reprimanding them, or even hurting them becomes reasonable. I have to confess this one often. It is so often that I think that I really need words of affirmation, but I really just want to have my ego stroked. God has been helping me to see the difference, but it is always something I need to be careful of because I know I can hurt others or put them down, when they don't provide me with what I want. Pride is a vicious beast.


   I hope you quickly recognize pride in your life. Pinpointing areas where you have a cancerous pride growth protruding is a vital exercise in your Christian life. It is the difference between idolatry and acceptable worship. But it is so hard to do. Ask a trusted friend. Say, "Have you noticed any areas in my life where I am full of pride?" Then, have the humility to confess this to God and anyone else you might have hurt with your pride. Finally, continually monitor your pride level and confess it. Your Pride-O-Meter should be sensitive enough to react before people get hurt. But if not, you need to get used to confession - to God and others. This is the first step to worshiping God fully and passionately. You don't excise pride by focusing on your pride; that is just another form of pride. You are looking at you still. You cut pride out by looking at
Christ and falling more and more and more and more and more in love him. And when you have done that, you won't be looking at yourself anymore, and you will notice that you are not in a desert any longer, but in the lush forest of worship.


"Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually." Psalm 105:4


Love Christ.