“The Pharisee stood up and prayed in his heart, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like other men – an extortioner, an unjust, an adulterer, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I have'” (Luke 18:11,12).
Just as excitement comes in the way of caution, similarly ego comes in the way of devotion. There is nothing more important in the spiritual life than reverence and complete respect for God, and so if pride prevents us from being reverent, it is a mortal danger to our souls.
What exactly is pride? This can be thought about in two directions: toward God and toward other people. have a sense of pride towards God Freedom, And towards other people, it’s a feeling superiority. In both cases, pride is a sinful feeling of self-satisfaction. Pride sees itself doing a very good job of standing on its own feet before God; It believes that as far as God is concerned, it has an internal track, so that whatever mistakes it makes, God gives special dispensation. And in relation to other people, pride pats itself on the back (of course secretly, and always with admirable “humility”) that it sees things from a more mature perspective than some other people, especially its rivals and its enemies.
If this is pride, then it should be clear that it is a great hindrance to worship. In fact, one way to look at pride is to see it as the opposite of worship. The spirit of worship is a feeling of selfless wonder at the majesty of God – one’s own smallness in God’s presence. And for sinful creatures like us, it is also a feeling of brokenness and repentance. Our hearts can be proud or they can be worshipful, but they cannot be both. And if they are not revered, we are lost. It doesn’t matter how many difficulties we think we have overcome. Without genuine faith, we are lost.
There is no person alive who does not need to be constantly alert to the ego. It is the source of all other sins, and it can enter our hearts in so many guises that, often, it breaks in the door and takes possession of the throne room of our hearts before we even know what has happened. Often, it slips past our defenses, cloaked in politeness. “And the devil smiled, for his favorite sin is pride that imitates humility” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge).
“Beware of the proud and arrogant spirit. This sin puts a great barrier between a person and God. As long as you are full of pride, you will have difficulty being aware of God. If it drives the angels out of heaven, it will certainly keep your heart away from heaven” (Richard Baxter).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
