Let My Pride Fall Down

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. --Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)

I struggle with pride. There are days when I view certain things in my life as having come from my efforts and not as blessings straight from God. With a haughty spirit I think to myself "look at what I did" and give myself a virtual pat on the back. I'm ashamed of this attitude and embarrassed by how easily I open my ears to the lies that the enemy knows whispers to me to make me lose sight of God.

In the past, it was selfish pride that drove me to keep God at arm's length, failing to yield to his authority. I thought that I was doing just fine on my own and didn't need an unseen God to somehow run my life for me. Now I see just how dangerous this attitude was. God graciously saved me from this when He called my name and I finally responded. Had this not happened, my pride would have caused me to stumble and fall in the worst way possible--I very well could have fallen into a lifetime of sin and have spent my eternity out of God's favor.

These days when my pride threatens to unseat God from a place of central prominence in my life, I remember the consequence of such behavior and I am immediately humbled. I would much rather my pride fall down and that God would send me to my knees than fall back into depravity. Even when I'm prideful, God is merciful enough to stay beside me. He is never frustrated by my shortcomings. He continues to teach me and mold me into a better person, not to mention a more humble person.