From The Desk of:

When Pride Is All You Have

As much as we try not to offend others with our words and actions, it remains inevitable. And when we are offended, what we are made of rises to the top. Over a week ago, a person zoomed past me while driving like he was on a mission. I assumed my driving offended him enough to risk wrecking our vehicles. A thought came to mind as I sipped my coffee and continued to drive my wife to work. The idea was “When pride is all you have.” The thoughtless words that are said and destructive actions that are done by the person who only has pride are unbelievable and irresponsible.

Few things are more dangerous in our homes than our pretty pets, who latch on to something harmful and refuse to let go as you pull it out to their mouth because they believe you are trying to take it away from them. It is difficult to explain and show them anything different. So it is with pride when that is all you have. You will believe something is being taken away from you. You refuse to let anyone take all you have left; it is protected by any means necessary.

 God has instilled great character traits within us. When offended, let them all rise to the top. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). No man can take these spiritual dispositions away because God has planted them in our hearts.

No man can hurt your love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc., because they rise to the top in moments of frustration and hurt. But when we bury and suppress God’s Spirit, all we have is hurt pride, which is the sum total of who we are.

What terrible things we do when pride is all we have. Such things are what nightmares are made of. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

©3/16/2024, Courtney Henderson