JUST A THOUGHT…

Episode Two
Original date created: 10-09-2007

So, in my road to discovery, I want to start and look at some of the basics; the search for the root of the problems that we, and in part, I, suffer. Over a time of reflection, it finally dawned on me that I should discuss the seven week lesson that is happening at the First Alliance Church (Calgary) right now… “The Seven Deadly Sins” So, I shall start with Pride, also known as Vanity.

The word Pride can be described as an emotion which refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person, group, nation or object that one identifies with. It is the act (thought) of believing that you are above others. This includes believing that you are right in discussions and arguments… An example of this would be one of those times in your teenage years that your mother or father is trying to give you specific instructions on how to do something and all you do in response is yell or talk rudely back saying that you already know how to do it.

Pride is the root of all sin. To give you a brief description, imagine a tree… Now all of the branches of the tree are labeled ‘sloth’, ‘lust’, ‘greed’, ‘wrath’, ‘envy’, and ‘gluttony’. Now label the trunk of the tree as ‘pride’. The sin of pride leads to many things. First, disobedience to those of a higher authority, which includes our G-D; Pride is the most serious, and the most subtle, sin. It often is not even recognized as existing. I mean, G-D loves to help us in our time of need, but sometimes we’re too proud to truly receive His guidance, which instead prevents us from receiving His help. As it says in Proverbs chapter 16:5, “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the L-RD; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”(NAS) And then in James chapter 4:6 it says, “But He gives greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘G-D is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”(NAS)

From those two verses, we can see that G-D detests those who are proud, simply because it is the root of all the other sins, it leads to the other six sins, and it causes us to turn away from the Almighty.

Some ways to prevent yourself from becoming proud includes your responsibility of reading the bible, and praying. In our world today, we live to work and work to live. Or so that is what we believe, which then causes us to calculate the amount of time we spend on each activity each day of the week. What we don’t realize is how much we neglect to read the bible, or to simply pray (talk) to our L-RD. It is in those times of prayer and reflection while reading the bible that our L-RD strengthens us further. With this action of neglect, come other actions… Not enough time to make it to church? Too tired with the amount of work done in the week that you can’t make it to a two hour service on Saturday or Sunday?

Pride leads to the inability to admit you are wrong, in fact, it starts to make you blame your own faults on another person… Somehow the fault is never yours, the failure was never caused by you thus you do not have the ability to submit to authority which, once again, leads to G-D. Not listening to his commandments, not following his words, and so on.

One particular problem can be identified, which is our love for the world; as it says in 1st John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” (NAS)

Now, with teenage rebellion, we can see that pride starts at such a young age. Some kids have the audacity to where shirts that have the symbol “I > U”. Our lives, even today, are so ego centric that some days we have the ego of a thirteen-year-old and other days the bravado of a fourteen-year-old. That’s right, even adults today are too proud, simply because their characters were not corrected when they were younger. This causes them to have an awkward relationship with their children, simply because they think they are right and can never see things in the perspective of a child, and then the child believes he is right, and also learns disrespect from how their friends talk to their parents, or possibly their own parents talking to their grandparents. It’s a very complicated situation, but if true change is to happen, it starts today.

Just to share a funny and quick story:

Muhammad Ali was on an airplane. Just before takeoff, the stewardess noticed and reminded Ali to fasten his seat belt. Being proud [being a champion and all], Ali’s response to her was, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” “Superman don’t need no airplane either.” retorted the stewardess.

So, what is the solution to pride? Well, with careful analysis, or possibly that many people have already identified it before me thus I didn’t even have to think about it, it is concluded that the solution to pride is Humility.

Humility, also known as modesty, is a quality, a characteristic that a person has that is considered to be humble. It is the quality of having a lowly opinion of oneself, meekness; it is the freedom from vanity or conceit. An example of this would be as such: Imagine you are in a competition, either in some sport, a scholastic decathlon, or possibly just a golf tournament among friends. Now, imagine you were the winner in the competition. What would you do next? Cheer for yourself? Be proud of your accomplishments? What you need to realize is that through G-D, anything is possible, and yes, maybe you’ve spent countless amounts of hours practicing your golf swing, but why be so proud? There is always someone out there better than you. Keep this in mind: “My accomplishments are from G-D”. Take Mother Teresa as an example… She was an assertive woman; she stood in front of the president and congressional leaders of the United States and was not ‘pushed-over’. Newsweek said that “She had a will of iron and a heart of love.” When a reporter said to her, “Humble as you are, it must be an extraordinary thing to be a vehicle of G-D’s grace in the world.” Mother Teresa answered, “But it is HIS work. I think G-D wants to show His greatness by using our nothingness. I am like a pencil in His hand. That is all.”

She was a great person, and people still remember her till this day; a selfless woman, living each day in service of G-D. There was so much for her to be proud for, yet, she gave glory only to G-D, no other.

So, once again, what is humility? Humility is also the ability to let go and let be. It eliminates jealousy and self-centeredness which creates physical, emotional, and intellectual boundaries. Pride destroys your self-esteem and distances yourself form others. A humble person makes an effort to listen to and accept others, no matter their race, religion, education, status in life, or gender. With a greater acceptance of others, the more others will hold you in high esteem, and the more they will listen. Humility automatically makes a person worthy of praise.

It says in Philippians chapter 2:3-8, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was G-D, he did not think of equality with G-D as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to G-D…” Even Jesus, in all his power and glory, did not think/act as if he was higher than us; instead, he too obeyed the laws; He obeyed his father, as a child should obey their parents.