Shedding Pride

 

December 11, 2014

Shedding Pride

 

Daily Thought: "Real Strength Comes with Humility"

Daily Reading: Philippians 2:3-11

 

I am not Catholic by any stretch- but I love the new Pope. To me- he is a man who gets it. I love what he says and I love what he does. In fact, recent photos of Pope Francis washing the feet of criminals still circle Facebook and social media outlets. The Pope- the leader of the Catholic church- who leads billions of followers (and who is not the youngest of individuals by the way)- got down on his hands and knees and scrubbed the feet of murders, rapists and thieves in a run down prison.

 

Why would the leader of the largest landowning entity in the world do such a thing? He was practicing a Christian tradition handed down from Jesus Himself. That's right! Thee Jesus washed the dirty, callused feet of His disciples in a historical and radical lesson of humility. And the punch line? NO ONE is above another.

 

You see- Jesus understands pride and how it hurts His people. To be clear, we aren't talking about the kind of inspiring pride that motivates people to do good. We are talking about the kind of pride that diminishes our relationships. The pride that we use to try to pump up how we are feeling at the expense of others. The kind of pride that keeps us from giving compliments or even showing our love. Whether it is demonstrated by celebrities, politicians, bosses or ourselves- it is an epidemic in our society.  All the while we seem to have become oblivious to the fact that pride is a prison that keeps us from experiencing depth in our relationships, from being approachable and even from learning valuable skills or lessons.

 

Looking to shed some pride? The recipe for overcoming pride is the practice of humility. It works. Focus on serving others, asking questions and showing love. You could even offer a compliment to someone who is not expecting it. After all, it is by practicing humility that we are strong.

 

Prayer: Lord, I see how pride diminishes so many different areas of my life. Even your Son made it a point to address it specifically, humbling himself to show care to others. I ask that you put humility in my heart by helping me to practice and model it in my own life. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.