Years ago, I was driving past some fancy houses with a friend of mine.
I knew quite a few wonderful people and great family friends who lived in those houses.
But as we drove past them…
My friend in my car started making rude statements about “all these rich people”.
She started sharing all her judgments.
I felt so weird about what she was saying…
Because it didn’t align with what I knew about the generous and loving people who lived there.
It wasn’t until years later that I started learning more about pride.
I had always thought pride was a sin when people think look “down” on others.
But I slowly realized that pride is shown whenever we try to separate ourselves from others.
“The great enemy of charity is pride…. Pride exaggerates its own strength and ignores the virtues of others.” – Elder Uchtdorf
This could mean thinking we are better than others for what we DO have… or what we DON’T have.
But it can also mean finding fault in others.
Withholding praise.
Being jealous.
Being disobedient.
Causing contention.
These are all sneaky ways that pride shows up in our lives.
We read, “For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh. . . upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.” (2 Nephi 12:12)
The Lord expects us to get rid of the pride in our hearts.
But He can also help us in the process.
Jesus can help us see each other on the same level.
He can fill our hearts with love and compassion.
He can help us recognize that our current bank accounts, homes, jobs, callings, political views, or clothing have nothing to do with who we really are in the eternities.
And He can fill our hearts with a recognition of all the places we try to separate ourselves from others, where we’ve allowed our pride to seep into our being.
And most importantly, Jesus can help us work to eliminate our pride, one step at a time.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
2 Responses
I loved this story. Just the opposite happened to me one day a few years back. A neighbor had asked me to go to lunch with her. We are driving back to our nice homes in an upscale HOA of SE AZ, and she made a comment that our community would be less embarrassing if we didn’t have to drive by those ugly manufactured homes. I knew some of the residents in the mobile home park, and they suffer from disabilities. And some would do their best to help others in need. I silently asked Heavenly Father to forgive my neighbor and show her how to love and not judge others.
I love that you prayed for her in that situation! Thanks for sharing!