Day 27-The Destructiveness of Pride

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

My mother and father divorced when I was a young child. My Mother and Father maintained a good relationship and my father was always a significant part of his children's lives. On my mother's death bed, her and my father had an opportunity to talk about their lives together and a part. It was an amazing conversation that really illustrated the destructiveness of pride. As my sisters and I were eavesdropping, they shared of their undying love for each other. They shared the reason why the never remarried because no one could take their places in their lives. They laughed about life together, they cried about life a part. In that moment they realized that the only thing that kept them a part was pride. Pride kept them always looking in the review mirror, reflecting on the hurt and the pain of stupid decisions and mistakes. They could not get past the hurt and the wounds because of pride, and on my mother's death bed, they realized how much life that they had forfeited.

My parents are not a lone in allowing pride to destroy and forfeit so many of the blessings of life. Many of us have delude ourselves in thinking that we are justified in our positions and true in our perspectives, when the reality is that we are trapped in pride and we are hurt protecting ourselves.

Pride is ego-centered and selfishness personified. That is the interesting thing about it, even though I can feel justified and that "right" I can still be lost in my own selfishness. Pride is when I embrace my own understanding and I do not respect nor embrace the wisdom of the Father. The sin of the Prodigal son was this kind of pride, which ultimately led to his destruction.

This text speaks to a broader appeal than just the dynamics of a self absorbed individual, it really speaks about the philosophy of life one adopts. Is God at the center of my life and all that I do revolve and evolve around Him, or is it about me? Our lives must be about God not in just simple respect or homage, but in the embracing of the truths and principles established in the Word. We have to trust the Father enough to trust the way that He has established in His truths.

Arrogance speaks to a haughty spirit that demands it's way at all cost without thinking about the bigger picture and consequences.

This is a lot to consider.

Living with Faith and Power and Creating a Phenomenal Life!

Bishop Keith Russell Lee
Hoffman Estates, IL and Los Angeles, CA

Spiritual Focus: The cure for pride is humility.

Spiritual Prayer Treatment

Father, give me a clean and humble heart.
I rebuke my ego and I get in the flow of the
spirit and allow you to lead me and guide me.
In the Name of Jesus and Through His Power!
Amen! And So It Is!