One of the greatest enemies of godly submission in life is pride. Pride is when we stop thinking of ourselves the way God does and begin thinking too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves. When we get prideful, we forget that we are servants. We forget about the goodness of God in our lives. We forget that there no good thing in us. We forget that all we have and all we are is from Him. Pride makes us so forgetful.
Pride also makes us rebellious and lack a submissive heart. There is always a good reason to rebel and do your own thing, but every reason is rooted in your prideful lack of submission to the Lord.
Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
A good test of your pride is having people actually treat you like a servant. So often we serve Jesus with the expectations to be seen and noticed and appreciated. When that doesn’t come, anger begins to rise up within us. “Don’t you know what I do here?” “Do you realize how many hours I’ve spent serving God, serving you?!!”
Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV) “When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”
When your anger begins to rise, remember that you only have one calling and that is to please Jesus. That’s it. Whatever God has you doing, I want you to know that it has an eternal effect and value. But if you allow the sin of pride to remain, it will take you out, remove you from usefulness, and separate you from people who love you and want to care for you.
James 1:19–20 (NKJV) “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
Bring your heart before the Lord and ask Him to examine you for any areas of pride in your life. Ask Him to remove those areas of pride and ask Him to give you a humble heart that is open to His leading in your life.
Adapted from Ordinary Servant.
To read more about serving Jesus with faithfulness and integrity, pick up a copy of Ordinary Servant by Pastor Ed.
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