Bible For Dummies 19.

I am creating a new series called The Bible For Dummies. It is not meant as a condescending title, but rather an attempt to see deep biblical truths that are easy to apply to our lives for better living in a distracted and busy world. So many people feel stressed and overwhelmed. Many people are carrying heavy wounds. Jesus can heal and restore all. He's the only one.

Because Jesus loves us so much, we wants to keep us from things that can destroy us. Pride is one of the items at the top of his list. In fact, the Bible mentions pride over 63 times, and usually in a context of stark warning. Proverbs 16:18 says "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Why is pride so damaging? Well, I could write for weeks about how much suffering I have incurred in my life as a result of pride, and more specifically false pride.

Jesus warned repeatedly about the severe risks of pride, because He knew it is one of the main tools satan uses to destroy humanity. In fact, the enemy uses pride to keep people from even knowing they need God at all. Pride says "I got this all by myself," when in reality satan has that person completely in his hands. Pride keeps us from repenting when we know we are dead in our sin, or have wronged someone with a prideful boast or a prideful lie. Pride keeps us from receiving the free gift of salvation through God's grace with an attitude of I will work for it on my own. I don't need God's grace, I will prove my worth through my own good deeds. Pride leaves us most deceived and unable to see the peril that is lurking right around the corner.  1 John 2:16 says "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world." This means pride is of the devil and we need to be really honest with ourselves about the areas of pride we still struggle with in our lives.

Trust me, this is a lifelong battle and we need to check in regularly and ask God to reveal maybe even hidden areas where we're struggling with pride. I just did this last week, and it was revealing to say the least.  It could be our achievements, our wealth, our vanity, our relationships, our careers or a myriad of other areas where we have allowed pride, or worse yet false pride, to take root. The only antidote is to agree with God and repent. Repentance is cathartic for our souls, so we need to do it fast when God reveals any area in our life that needs to be cleansed from pride. If we don't we are playing  right into the devil's hand, and a mighty fall is near.

#doughallmedia #thewell #removepride