Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a
daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert
from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.
Scripture passage 1
Peter 5:5
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility
toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Section from the book
You are proud, and what makes this so dangerous is that you
don’t realize just how proud you are. There are two reasons you see pride as a
sin that isn’t a real problem for you. One is that you are quick to compare
yourself to the worst examples of proud men and women, and this gives you a
sense of self-righteousness that comforts you. Comparatively, you believe you
aren’t “that bad.” This makes little of a very serious sin problem.
The second reason you think pride isn’t a serious issue for you
is that you think so little of your talents and abilities. But poor self-esteem
is not an indication of humility or meekness. In fact, it may be a disregarding
of the gifts God has given you and a mocking of the work he is doing in your
life. How does this connect to pride? Haven’t you used this excuse of no
ability and no talent to clear yourself of responsibility? Isn’t it possible
that you have used poor self-esteem as an excuse for doing nothing or as a
means of saving face? Who could fault you when you don’t claim to be good at
anything? Make no mistake about it—you are proud!
Simple thoughts
Pride is all about elevation.
Pride occurs when a person elevates themselves. Immediately when you compare
yourself to someone worse than you, you just elevated yourself. That’s pride.
The other side of the coin is very sneaky and one many have never thought about
and that is when you try and lower yourself you are trying to manipulate others
into elevating you. Either way you are putting yourself on a pedestal when
Christ is the only one who deserves the top spot.
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