"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matt 7:3 NASB)
I know if you’ve been a Christian for longer than 24 hours you’ve already heard maybe 100 sermons on this passage right? I’d like to take a different angle with it in this devotional/exhortation…the angle of PRIDE.
Ouch…I’ve already lost half of you right? The thing is there is something fundamentally wrong with me (maybe you can relate)…I am PROUD. So proud that I often find that when I’m critical of someone or an organization, God gently nudges me and asks, “don’t you notice this in yourself?” Later I think how was I so blind to this log (as big as the one pictured)? It's that five letter P-word P R I D E.
If you are the same way or don’t know if you are check out this list of Pride Indicators from a book called Brokenness: A Heart God Revives by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. There are some Broken Indicators too…I’ll post those another time, but I’m gonna go through these again myself. I'll post in comments the ones that God is working on me right now (ie A1, B3, etc) Won’t you join me in being broken enough to confess?
PROUD PEOPLE:
A. ATTITUDE TOWARD OTHERS
- Focus on the failures of others
- A critical, fault-finding spirit; look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope, but their own with a telescope
- Especially prone to criticize those in positions of authority and they talk to others about the faults they see
- Self-righteous; look down on others
- Independent, self-sufficient spirit
- Have to prove that they are right
- Claim rights; have a demanding spirit
- Self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation
- Desire to be served
- Desire to be a success
- Have a subconscious feeling, “This ministry/church is privileged to have me and my gifts”; think of what they can do for God
- Desire self-advancement
- Have a drive to be recognized and appreciated
- Wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked
- Elated by praise and deflated by criticism
- Feel confident in how much they know
- Self-conscious; worry about what others think
- Concerned with being respectable, with what others think; work to protect their own image and reputation
- Can’t bear to fail or have anyone think they are less than perfect.
- Keep others at arms’ length
- Quick to blame others
- Wait for the other to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or conflict in a relationship
- Unapproachable or defensive when criticized
- Find it difficult to share their spiritual need with others
- Try to control the people and the circumstances-prone to manipulate
- Become bitter and resentful when wronged; have emotional temper tantrums; hold grudges; easily offended
- Want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their instinct is to cover up
- Have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?”
- Tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin
- Concerned about the consequences of their sin
- Remorseful over their sin, sorry that they got found out or caught
- Blind to their true heart condition
- Compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor
- Don’t think they have anything to repent of
- Don’t think they need revival, but are sure that everyone else does
© Revive Our Hearts
Used by permission of Revive Our Hearts
P. O. Box 31
Buchanan, MI 49107
866-842-8381
11:44 AM, August 25, 2005
Here were mine a couple of years ago when I read this book...
A3, B2, B3, D2, E3, E5, E6, G2
God has been doing a tremendous work as I fall broken before Him he hasn't crushed me but made me whole...honestly right now I would say A3 is still the one God is working in me with.
Is there still room for improvement on the others? YES!
12:20 AM, September 29, 2005
Nice Pat, thanks for the healthy dose of conviction !
Love ya bro, God has definitely raised you up...
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