Romans 12:14-16
Verse 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
We mentioned yesterday about how we are not to try to stand out from other believers, part of the reason we do that is because we have pride in our hearts and lives. This pride can show up in various ways but it always begins with loving ourselves more than others. Paul told the Corinthians that love is not proud or boastful (1 Corinthians 13:4). In theory we know this is true and yet most of us still struggle with thoughts of how we are better than others.
Pride can show up in our lives by the way we view other people and while most of those views are in our thought life, they will eventually show up in our actions and attitudes. It may rear its ugly head in the form of making a judgment about someone. To be fair, each of us make judgments each day and not all of them are wrong to make. That may shock some yet it is truth.
There are judgements which are necessary to make and yet aren’t done from a prideful heart. If we have noticed a car darting in and out between lanes and we have a slight space in front of us, we will likely make the judgment to watch them more carefully with our foot ready to hit the brake if we need to. If the bully of the playground hit a couple of our friends and then came over to us and raised his hand, we could rightfully judge that we were next to be slapped.
The problem comes if we are judging based on our high view of ourselves. If we look at ourselves as better Christians than those around us, we will struggle to love them as we are commanded to do. Pride manifests an attitude in us which doesn’t allow us to see fellow believers as Christ does. This is where we tend to place ourselves on the judgment seat. We start looking at others through the lens of our righteous views, instead of God’s.
Maybe we could think of pride as self-righteous glasses, something we use to see others in a way which makes sense to us. If we would instead look at them through the lens of love that God has given us to look through, we may see them with grace and care. That’s the way we want to be looked at, isn’t it?
Making It Personal
Is there someone you consistently looked at with prideful condemnation? What area of your life does pride seem to be most obvious? What does your pride reveal about your relationship with God?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think pride looks like? How have you been prideful? Do you treat other people as if they aren’t as important as you are?
Closing Prayer
Father, forgive us for our prideful thoughts and actions. Help us learn what it means to love each other so we can show You to the world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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