February 2006

By Anonymous -

Welcome to the February Issue of EFW! Stay strong reading your Bible daily, this is our year long goal! Wayne Taylor, pastor of Calvary Fellowship in Seattle, Wash. once said this about the Bible, “This book will keep you from sin, sin will keep you from this book.” Although we obviously can’t be sinless – we are seeking to become more and more like Jesus. This issue is about pride, a grand issue in my life.

Putting aside the pride…

The world says to love yourself, God says to love others. The world says look out for you, number one, God says to put others first. My pride continually bubbles up within me as a nasty form of self-righteousness. Usually it begins with an internal battle like this, ‘I’m not going to apologize. He/she should apologize to me. It is so ungodly for them to have said/done that to me. No way am I forgiving them until they have apologized. And then he/she needs to make it right, not just words but deeds.’ That’s pretty much me.

We all struggle with pride, maybe not in the same way, but we all do. The book of Proverbs has many verses on pride, here are a few. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom (11:2). Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice (13:10).Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (16:18). The proud and arrogant man-"Mocker" is his name; he behaves with overweening pride (21:24). A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor (29:23).

Sometimes I’m too proud to forgive, sometimes too much so to love. This obviously causes grief in my life. We all know what a lack of forgiveness stored in our hearts does and what happens when we are unloving. On the flipside when we go against our flesh and forgive people those 70x70 times or love when others are unloving, we please God and are in the likeness of Jesus! Might each of us cast aside our pride, seeking to be humbled by the Living God who will guide us in what is right and teach us his ways (Psalm 25:9).

“Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up…”

Words & Music by Bob Hudson
© 1978 Maranatha! Music

In Christ,

Elizabeth

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