Pride

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PRIDE:

Resisting the Spirit

Oh, the utter horror of pride! How it is indeed the original sin that has infected us and keeps us from a relationship with our Lord and from relationships with one another. Pride refuses instruction. Pride rejects help and says “No thank you, I can do it myself.” Pride refuses, resists, balks, is stiff-necked and stubborn. Pride is a two-year old who says, “Me do it.” Pride says, “I know best, but thanks anyway for your advice.”

Humility is the total opposite of pride. Humility doesn’t think too highly of itself, but instead receives instruction or help…and is thankful for it. This is why thankfulness toward our God is so important, because thankfulness acknowledges that everything we have is received from Him and we did not provide it for ourselves or do it for ourselves.

God knows what we need before we ask Him. Why do we have to ask, then? Why should we pray? Because we are such a prideful and stubborn people, God has limited himself to acting in our behalf only in answer to our prayers. Prayer is simply asking – asking for His help and instruction. When we ask, He freely gives! But if we won’t humble our independent selves to ask our Father for help or wisdom, He will not act. God will not help us as long as we still depend on ourselves and our resources, He waits until we humble our proud, arrogant, know-it-all spirits and ask Him….not just mouth the words, but truly ask Him from our hearts.

Adam and Eve refused Gods instruction not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They wanted to find out for themselves; do it themselves. They refused the Tree of Life that God so freely gave; but said instead, “No, thank you, this fruit over here looks pretty good to us.” In essence they were saying to God, “Yeah, I know You mean well with Your Tree of Life, but we think we’ll try this route over here instead…maybe we’ll try Your suggestion later if our way doesn’t work out.”

And God help us, we do the same thing today! When the Holy Spirit comes to instruct or correct us, we resist, we refuse to listen. We think we know, and that our way is best. We want to do things our way instead. We go forth in rebellion against the provision of our kind and merciful God, striving to create our own safety, security and happiness. When we do so, God allows us to learn the hard way, as those who are proud and stubborn must always learn. Some of us are too proud to ever learn, and then Jesus will cry out to us as He did to those who had refused His messengers again and again, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”

“Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? See then that ye refuse not him that speaketh… (Heb. 12:9, 25).

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*All emphasis mine.
Written October, 2007