Reminders for Your Spiritual Journey

Pride is defined as a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.  We are encouraged to show school pride, and to be proud of our teams’ accomplishments on the sports fields.  We are naturally proud of our children and we can’t help taking pride in our own accomplishments.  So why does the bible say that pride is a sin?  It seems like a good thing to feel pleased when we, or those close to us, do something well.

Three Bible verses come to mind: Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace…” Proverbs 16:5 “The Lord detests all the proud of heart.  Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” These verses, by themselves, are reason enough to strike guilt and trepidation in our hearts whenever we smile with pride at a what is clearly a joyful moment. 

Therein lies the danger of taking Bible some verses out of context.  We are certainly within the good graces of God to take pleasure in actions well executed––our own or those of others with whom we identify.  It becomes sinful only when we compare ourselves, or those we love, with others.  That is, when we think our achievements are superior to those of others, or if we brag about our accomplishments as if they are superior.  This is where bias or prejudice comes to bare.  It is when we judge (pre or post) other’s accomplishments as less than our own.  That is why Proverbs 11:2 goes on to say, “…but with humility comes wisdom.”

The problem with pride is that it is too easy to slip from humbly accepting a compliment to becoming arrogant, conceited or self-righteous.  We need to guard against thinking that we, rather than God, are the sole source of our accomplishments.  We need to do everything for the glory of God, not for self-aggrandizement.  We need to teach children that is okay to feel good about doing something well.  It’s okay to celebrate, but we need to realize that it was God who gave us our abilities and put people in our lives to teach and encourage us.  He is pleased, just as we are, when we use those abilities well.  We also need to warn them against taking undeserved credit or to think they are superior to others.  That’s when pride becomes a sin.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:12

We all have unused potential.  That is, we do not always fully use all of the energy and talents we have been given to do what we are capable of doing.  Sometimes there might have been something standing in the way of our ability to develop a particular skill or talent.  More often than not however, the choice was our own.  We might have known that we have a talent for numbers, but careers in accounting or tax preparation may not have seemed very glamorous to us and we might have chosen to pursue drama or journalism, for which we may or may not have much talent.  We need to ask God to guide our choices as He has promised to do.

About 80% of students in college end up changing their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.  On average, college students change their major at least three times over the course of their college career.  Is that because each path they start down proves too difficult and they realized that they do not have the right set of interests or skills to pursue it, or is it that they feel “called” to pursue a different path? 

Unlike the story of young Samuel in the Bible, God does not often come to a modern-day person, as a voice in the night, to call us directly to the work he has planned for us.  It might take a few tries to figure out what we are meant to do.  Few will receive a call into full-time ministry, but we are all called to find our purpose in life.  Sometimes that purpose might just be part of our everyday life, at work or at home, in the way we encourage others or how we care for our families.  God does not need all of us to be leaders.  Some of us simply need to humbly accept the everyday duties we are responsible for and to perform them to the best of our abilities.  We can minster to our co-workers, our families and our neighbors any time.  We can spread God’s love wherever we are.  

God never stops pursuing us and redirecting us toward his plan.  We need to remember that it is His calling on our lives, so He is faithful in helping us accomplish it.  If we seek the holy spirit’s guidance first, we can be confident that we are on the right on track. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” – Proverbs 16:3 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” – Hebrews 10:36

What does it mean to be an optimist?  And why should or could anybody be optimistic when things are so bad all around us.  The government is a mess, the weather is bad, and things seem to be falling apart all around us.  Even the people we have to deal with every day are often grouchy or sad.  What have we got to be optimistic about anyway?

We humans seem to like to invent reasons to feel victimized.  We sometimes even set ourselves up to fail.  I heard a definition once that said that an optimist is a person who decides to go on a diet the day before Thanksgiving.  We might chuckle at someone so foolish, but don’t we do the same thing sometimes?

Of course, optimism alone does not get the job done.  We have to act to make it work for us.  In (2004), Fox News reported on a study that came from the Archives of General Psychiatry.  Researchers studied 1,000 people aged 65-85 trying to determine the importance of a positive attitude in dealing with life.  After almost 10 years of follow-up, researchers found that people who described themselves as optimistic had a 55 percent lower risk of death from all causes and a 23 percent lower risk of heart-related death.  The study found that optimistic people tend to be more physically active, drink less, and smoke less.  They also cope with stress more effectively. (E. Giltay, Archives of General Psychiatry, November 2004, vol. 61, pp. 1126-1135

A Danish study with 607 patients who had heart disease, also indicated that participants with more positive attitudes were 58 percent more likely to live at least another five years.  A positive attitude may not only extend one’s life, it can make the living of it more pleasant.  John Maxwell once said, “A happy person is not a person with a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”

Philippians 2:5 states: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”  In other words, let Jesus be your guide.  Think and do as He did.  Look for the goodness in people, and forgive their flaws.  Even though we are weak and self-defeating at times, we know that Jesus told us that he would send the Holy Spirit to help us.  We have the power to decide how we will respond to life.  Having an optimistic attitude, following the example Jesus demonstrated and asking the Holy Spirit to guide us can give us a pretty good reason to believe that life is worth living and even if we die young, we know we have a better life to look forward to.