Pride is a sneaky rascal.

Psalm 131:1-3

“Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.  I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me.  Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself like a little weaned child with its mother; I am like a little child.  Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.”

My mother would talk or brag about her grandchildren, and always say now this is good pride not bad.  We all understood what she was conveying to us, but pride is that deplorable sin that many of us are blind to in our lives.  A king such as David that had won so many victories and accomplished so much and could go before an all-knowing God and say my heart is not proud.  It brings shame to me that I often have wanted people to think of me higher or better than both God and I know to be true, yes, I am often confronted with pride and arrogance in myself.

The apostle John gives us some sound council in 1 John 2:15-16,  ^“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”  As the apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 13:5, examine yourself, be on guard as Jesus told Peter for the devil is a sneaky rascal.

Do you recall these words from Jesus, “And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.   Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 18:3-4)  If you ponder on what Jesus has said, everyone must have a heart change, we must understand we are needy, not complete and run to Jesus with our broken life, as a child runs to his mother or daddy, with his broken toy.

My dear brother in Christ, Bill Gillham was a speaker and professor of psychology and he often said, “Psychology was placing Band-Aids on things that only God can fix.”  We are living in a time that truth is made fun of, a liar is thought of as wise, but God has spoken, be still and wait for the Lord, He has set a date for the wicked.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice