Proverbs 16:5
Pride disgusts the Lord. Take my word for it - proud men shall be punished.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Timothy was terribly
restless yesterday. He had a huge week and weekend, which included a
trip on Thursday with his great-grandparents to Blanchard Caverns …and a
“guys trip” Saturday night to the stock car races with
his Uncle Greg, his Paw-paw, and his dad. I think there were other
special activities, too…and by Monday morning, he was one tired little
boy. Like a lot of kids, Timothy does NOT like to nap. So we had a lot
of discussions yesterday that went like this…”But I don’t WANT to take a
nap! Don’t rock me…you’re trying to make me go to sleep! I’m hungry!
But I CAN’T calm down! I’m really NOT tired!”
When Timothy’s
mom came to pick up the children after work, he told her, “Mother, I was
HORRIBLE today.” She said, “Oh, I bet you weren’t that bad!” He
replied, “Oh, yes I was! I was HORRIBLE!” Now a lot of children would
have totally tried to cover up their “horrible” day…but as Timothy’s
mother pointed out – “at least he’s honest!”
Thankfully, this
six-year-old boy has not developed a truly prideful heart…and I wish
that I could believe that he never will. Time will tell…but a lot of
children have learned to “cover their tracks” by the time they are 8 or
9. They know how to spin things to their advantage and make themselves
look good – or at least innocent. And when they ARE discovered, the
first question (whether voiced or implied) is generally, “Do you still
love me?”
As adults, a lot of people want to “spin things,” or
force their opinion and ideas on others…then excuse this with, “We can
disagree and still love each other!” The trouble is, more often than
not, these people shove their agendas down the throats of others in a
judgmental, condescending, and anything-but-loving manner.
Read
this passage from Mark 12:28-31…”One of the teachers of the Law of Moses
came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus
give a good answer, he asked him, ‘What is the most important
commandment?’
Jesus answered, ‘The most important one says:
“People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” The second most
important commandment says: “Love others as much as you love yourself.”
No other commandment is more important than these.’
If you can
figure out where in this passage Jesus tells us that it’s okay to be
prideful or arrogant in our “loving”…then show me! Too many of us want
to push our own agendas with criticism – and even an atmosphere of fear
and hatred – and then excuse it all with, “But we still love you!” as if
those on the receiving end should somehow be grateful.
I cannot
stress enough how disheartened I am by the attitudes, words and actions
of many people in recent days. The attacks have been prideful…and
vicious. And far too many people are trying to hide behind the name of
Jesus as they toss daggers and stones. I implore each of us to search
our hearts and look for places where we are spinning things to suit our
own whims. Where have we “acted horrible” and then hoped that people
would love us anyway? If we find even a snippet of this malice and
manipulation, I pray that we would ask God to remove it from us…for
good.
Proud men will indeed be punished. Let’s do everything we
can to make sure that we are not among them! If we make a concerted
effort to operate in love, there will be no room for pride and
judgment. Are you ready to do some heart “search and rescue?” Don’t
you think this is a good time to start?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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