Pride Can Humble You

Over the past twenty years of my life I have seen how pride can make or break people. It seeps into the deepest darkest places of your life without you even knowing so that way it has the ability to keep a hold on you. This is the perfect description of sin in someones life because as time goes on it becomes a creature of habit just like the aspect of pride becomes a habit in most peoples lives. To live without pride can be so difficult in your life, but sometimes I think about how I feel when other people are prideful to me: hurt, discouraged, and not enough. Pride makes people turn away from you, which means that they are turning away from the message of God. No one is responsible for someone else's salvation, however, you are responsible for sharing the gospel with everyone and those missed opportunities could be because you didn't take the time to ask someone else a question instead of being so involved with yourself. 

The story of David and Goliath makes me think of pride because as a lowly servant David knew that He did not stand a chance against Goliath without God on his side. However, Goliath had all of the confidence in the world that he could do everything without the help of God... and we obviously know how that one turned out. Goliath didn't win. He was defeated by David who knew that God was going to help him do impossible things. David knew his status in this world, he was a servant to sheep, he made sure they were fed and taken care of just like Jesus made sure we had an eternity with Him by dying on the cross for us. We can't take this for granted and not use our lives as a way to honor Him. Pride does not get you anywhere in this life, if you are or are not a Christian it is still important to remember that humility and servitude are in my opinion two of the best qualities a person could have in their lives. These aspects cause people to think about others and to care about them. I personally know that if I didn't have anyone to care about me I definitely would not have any joy in this lifetime. 

Now I'm not saying don't have any confidence in yourself at all, instead internalize the confidence so that way other people see Jesus first before they see you. You should be proud of yourself and take pride in your accomplishments, however, those accomplishments would not exist if God had not been there to help you along the way. Even if you are not a believer God has designed your life already to give you the opportunities and gifts you have today. Be thankful, gracious, and humble that we have a heavenly father who loves us enough to give us the life we live without asking anything in return. So many times I take my family, academic career, and health for granted because these are things that I do not have to worry about. Instead worry about others and ask people how they are doing. You would be surprised at how good you can make someone else feel by simply listening to them instead of the other way around. Pride gets in the way of caring for others, so don't let it, make yourselves humble. 

May the love and peace of God be with you always,

Leah Carpenter