22 Feb

Confessions - Part 2

posted by Andrew Hebert

In keeping my promise from last week to discuss my biggest personal struggles, I came upon an ironic twist. The very reason it’s hard to discuss my personal struggles is actually a struggle in itself, that of pride. Somehow, coming to grips with the reality of my shortcomings is easier than telling others about them. There’s something humiliating about confessing that I make mistakes, and yet, being too proud to admit that I make them is actually a mistake in itself.

I remember the game very well. I had just hit an in-the-park home run. After squeezing two extra bases out of what should have been a double, I proudly bowed to the crowd and started strutting towards the dugout. Always one with a flair for the dramatic, I decided to give one final bow to the crowd before entering the dugout. Unfortunately, after the bow, I turned around to enter the dugout and ran right into the metal pole that formed the doorframe. As I was sitting on the bench afterwards trying to stop my nose from bleeding, the words “pride goes before the fall” kept replaying themselves over in my head.

While this is one of the funnier examples of the results of my pride, there are far more serious examples. I think of times when I have been too proud to talk to someone who, in my opinion, wasn’t as cool as me, times when a relationship has been ruined because I have been too proud to admit that I was wrong or ask for forgiveness. Although I am ashamed to admit it, there have even been times when my pride has kept me from admitting my sin to God and asking for His forgiveness.

Recently, as I was reading the New Testament, I discovered that the word for pride describes not just a man who is concerned with only himself, but a man who has contempt for everyone but himself. It is not merely a positive view of oneself, but a negative view of everyone else. When I am prideful, I’m not only hurting myself but I’m hurting everyone else around me. Pride is destructive – the Bible is correct when it says that pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant mind before the fall.

The Apostle Paul encouraged the church at Philippi in this regard. He told them that they should have the same attitude as Jesus, who, although He was God, humbled Himself and became a servant, suffering and dying in a way that a King never should have had to experience. He did it because He viewed the well-being of others as more important than His own well-being (Philippians 2:5-8). Paul’s encouragement to that church still rings true for the church and for me today – I should be like Jesus. Sound too hard? Paul didn’t think so, because in that same letter, he said that he could do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). The only way to overcome pride and be like Jesus where I humble myself so I can serve others is to depend on His power and strength. And true to His Word, He will always strengthen me and allow me to live the way He commanded me to live.

Filed in: Sin

About the Author

Andrew Hebert is a student at Criswell College. He enjoys reading, eating Mexican food, watching the Houston Astros, and listening to any kind of music. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Dallas and are expecting their first child in June.