the poison of pride

At 6 o'clock on Tuesday mornings my dorm floor prays to start the day. It is not that we believe that 6 is better than noon or that the Lord will answer more of our prayers the way we would like if we lose sleep to pray. However, there is something to be said for sacrifice. There is something to be said for giving the firstfruits to the Lord. Starting the day off early with prayer is a good way to focus on our need for God and to be reminded that He must receive our very best, the first bite, if you will. Anyway, as I prayed with my roommate this morning, I truly felt the Spirit of the Lord moving through us as we prayed for our nation.

I am not into politics nor do I like politics. I believe there is a lot of corruption and deceit in government and so I try and stay away from it as much as possible. Whether or not this is the right approach...well that is another blog that I am working on. I find that praying for the entire nation of America to repent is a tough pill to swallow. The Bible says that every nation will turn against Israel in the end. Yes, even America the beautiful will be the enemy of God's chosen people. Nevertheless, even though I know what will eventually happen, it does not mean that between now and that time that the Lord cannot bring about a revival that would bring many to faith. Because I do not know what will happen, I can honestly pray that the Lord change the heart of our wicked nation. It is this hope that allows my heart to pray in Spirit and in truth with full expectation that God will move in such a way if He so desires.

As we prayed for our nation, I realized that pride has become the venom of the enemy to paralize society in sin. Pride is so often thought of as that boy who won little league game and would not stop boasting even to prevent the huge chunk of Big League Chew from falling out of his mouth. However, pride is a crafty sin that takes many of us by surprise. Pride takes the average person and turns him into a rationalizing idiot. Pride disguises itself as a morality scale that is squared up against the acts of others. Pride is the very thing that can be both the offender and defender at the same time. Pride is the essence of self-absorption and spiritual blindedness. How can pride be all of this? How can this seemingly harmless sin darken the lives of so many? It is because it is the exact opposite of what Christ has called us to be.

Pride has no place in a heart given to Christ. Pride elevates the person on an illusionary pedistal. Pride tells us that we are thriving when, in fact, we are dying. If there was a portion of good in us that could redeem our sinful nature, then Christ did a foolish thing on the cross. What a horrible thing to count Christ as a fool. However, when we depend on ourselves for ANYTHING we essentially laugh at the cross of Christ.

My heart is not free of pride. In fact, pride disguises itself when the lost are found. Redemption becomes a weapon and is seen as a badge of honor for ourselves. I may look at a prostitute or a drunk and sigh with relief that I am not sinning as they are and walk on by. It is in that moment that I have declared that I was involved in my soul's redemption and that I should be commended for my inability to sin in such ways.

I believe that, instead of thanking God that I am not stuck in such sin and continuing on, we should look into the eyes of that precious creation of God and see that the very breath that resides in them is the same that dwells in us. I believe that we should equate ourselves with prostitutes and drunkards because prostitution and drunkeness are the result of us trying to fix ourselves. Void of Christ, we are no different. This should bring about a heart of praise. If He were to withdraw, we would grasp at straws just like any other and commit the same sins.

Pride is the same both to the believer and to the nonbeliever. It can blind us to the need for redemption and it can blind us of the One who redeemed us. However, I believe that pride is at the core of this messed up country. Only when I can pray with a humble heart can I effectively battle the prideful heart. This applies to the struggle within myself as well as the struggle with people I encounter. I must humbly accept that I did nothing to deserve or obtain redemption. God's grace allows me to receive blessing instead of the damnation that I justly deserve.

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow