Pride Begins With "I"

Have you ever tuned into the conversations you have with other people? Even the ones you have with yourself? And no, I'm not talking about 'hearing voices'. It's intriguing to me how many times we use the words "I", "Me", or "My" and go blissfully unaware of the lurking undertones of selfishness and pride.

I used to think that pride was as big as a boulder and, therefore, easy to detect. But I've come to learn that it's usually like a thin, translucent line stretched between two trees that trips you up as you walk along the path. If you get a little too distracted you'll never see it coming.

I won't kid you. I've gotten caught up in the thrill of success when a plan goes off without a hitch and I (even secretly) prompt others to see the role I played in making it happen. I've occasionally judged others under my breath with a sigh and disdainful shake of my head, thinking to myself, "I can't believe she..." I could go on and on with the I thinks, I feels and I knows, but you get my drift.

As I pondered this ugly habit and why it so easily creeps up on most of us, I was struck with the unmistakable kinship pride has with fear. Ultimately, when our automatic self-preservation kicks in, it s fear that usually flips the switch. Fear that we won't be recognized or respected. Fear that we'll lose something or someone. Fear that we won't get something we strongly desire or think that we need. Fear that we won't be found worthy of love and acceptance. Sometimes what we think we're missing is right there all along, but fear keeps us blind to it.

Don't be fooled! It's a trick. Satan fell for it eons ago when he started hungering for what he didn't even need. He was the greatest of all the angels in heaven; skillfully outfitted with unique qualities that were unparalleled. Yet, he created the biggest lie in his own magnificent mind, and it not only consumed him and a third of the angelic host, but it has sealed their doom. (See Isaiah 14:12-15).

I've asked the Holy Spirit to remind me that I, the creature, am not, and will never be or need to be, as great as the Creator. Humility is my friend and an effective gauge of my trust in the Lord. So I leave you with this: whenever your accomplishments or your personal ambitions begin to exalt the screenplay of your life to blockbuster status, remember... the sequel is a always a real downer.

Don't You Dare Lose Your Distinction!

I'm a south paw, and proud of it, too! But I never really think anything about it until someone else takes notice of it.

That's exactly what happened to me recently when I was sitting in the takeout section of a local restaurant waiting on my order. I was writing something down and the lady who waited on me noticed that I was left-handed and commented on it.

She told me an interesting story about how her husband was almost violently conformed into using his right hand when he was a young boy in school. Apparently, his teachers (who obviously subscribed to some unwarranted fear about the meaning of being left-handed) would smack him on his left hand whenever he tried to use it to write in order to make him use his right hand.

Now, I've heard some strange stories when it comes to people and their pet peeves about left-handedness, but this one was especially disturbing. Why would someone go to such lengths to rob someone of their distinction? After doing a little research, I found out that historically, being left-handed was often associated with being "evil" or "clumsy." So, in order to deter any negative tendencies, people who believed this ideology thought that they were doing the right thing by trying to make the left-hander conform "for their own good."

Granted, south paws are in the minority when it comes to hand preference, but it has often been proven that this distinction has served them (and others) very well. Many of the greatest people who ever lived were left-handed (i.e. Benjamin Franklin, Babe Ruth, even Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama).

Consider the story of Ehud, a left-handed man from the tribe of Benjamin whose story is documented in chapter 3 of the Book of Judges. It was typical in those days for a man to strap his sword or knife on his left side for use with his right hand. So it was easy to beware if the man in question was going to attack because he would be expected to reach toward his left side. However, God saw fit to use this man, Ehud, to get close enough to his enemy to destroy him because he would never be suspected as a threat - his knife was strapped to his right side. How clever!

So the next time someone feels so threatened by whatever God has chosen to make you distinctive that they try to make you conform to "the right way," don't be intimidated. Don't allow their fears to become your problem. It's your distinctiveness that God intends to use. Don't you dare lose it!

Why the Friendly Fire?

Have you ever tried to help someone who was so intent on gaining something that they attacked you in the process. You probably went down yelling, "Hey! What are you doing? I'm on your side!"

I think back to the swimming class I took in college. I was desperately trying to overcome my fear of the water, so I showed up with resolved enthusiasm the day we were to tackle swimming unassisted by holding on to the edge of the pool. (I can hear you avid swimmers out there snickering at me right now!) I calmly lowered myself into the water as my teacher, who was already in the pool, reassured me that she would remain nearby while I practiced the strokes. But it wasn't long before I dipped too low and too long under the water and began to panic. The teacher moved toward me as fast as she could, trying to calm me and stop me from flailing and thrashing all over the place. But the moment she got close enough to help me regain composure, I grabbed her around the neck so hard that I pulled her under with me. Thank God she was a trained professional. I could have killed us both! I didn't realize it at the time, but all she was trying to do was get me back into the right position so I could stop fighting the water and breathe.

That's what friendly fire looks like. By definition, it is to inadvertently fire upon your ally while attempting to engage enemy forces (in my case, the water), resulting in injury and sometimes death. If you know what it feels like to be fired upon, you definitely don't want to be the one holding the gun, do you?

Be honest. Have you been a little too defensive, insensitive, sarcastic, overbearing, or impatient with people whose only aim is to help you out? Have you alienated some of them in your attempt to take the world by storm? If so, you might want to step back and assess where all this unwarranted hostility is coming from. I guarantee you there's probably some unresolved fear at the root of it all. My charge to you is to call a ceasefire. You don't want to risk losing the very ones who were sent to help you win the battle.