Pride. No not a pride of lions. Pride can be defined as “delight or elation arising from some act, possession or relationship”. We can be proud of what we do, what we have or the relationships we maintain.
Pride can be tremendously harmful. The harmful kind of pride comes from the world:
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. – 1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)
It is so easy to forget that everything we do and everything we have is from God and for God. It is so easy to give ourselves credit for our successes. It is so easy to be proud ourselves. Again, this kind of pride is not from God, but from the world.
But the definition above also describes a third thing we can be proud of: our relationships. Specifically, I would suggest we can be proud of our relationship with God. Not because we did something, but because He thought enough of us to make the relationship possible. If we want to boast about something, how about this:
But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken! Jeremiah 9:24 (NLT)
So, it is time to check your heart. What are you proud of? Is it pride in what you’ve done or what you have? Or, is it pride in who’s you are? What are you proud of?
