Pride is something we need to avoid. But why?
The story of James Covel in Sections 39-40 is just fascinating to me.
Because we see EXACTLY what James missed out on due to his pride.
I mean, Section 39 is packed with blessings.
Promises.
Miracles.
James was promised all of these, as long as he would trust the Lord.
And then… pride got him.
He cared a bit too much about what others would think.
He cared about losing his great reputation he had spent years building back east.
The adversary appealed to his personal sense of importance, rather than the whisperings of the Spirit who encouraged him to give it all to the Lord.
This little case study in pride is so powerful to me!
James was promised so much, and chose his own comfort.
So… when am I doing the same?
I don’t have the blessings that I’m missing out on written down right in front of me, so it’s a little harder to see.
But I think it’s when I think that I’m “too busy” to fill my spiritual cup.
Or when I’m doing something good, but I have a totally bad attitude about it.
Or when I think that I’ve gotta worry about myself before I can reach out to those I minister to.
Pride gets me to miss out on a lot of blessings in my life that I’m probably not even aware of.
But, before I spiral into mourning everything I’ve missed and beating myself up about it…
(Feeling some guilt to move me to change is good— sitting in shame is not!)
How can I move forward?
How can I choose to claim every single blessing God has in store for me?
Or at least, as many blessings as I can, since I know I’ll let my pride get the best of me again and again.
I can choose to rely on the Lord.
I can choose total humility.
I can choose to not start my day without kneeling in prayer and asking for guidance.
I can choose to trust that when I rely on Him, I’ll start looking outward even more and worry less about what I’m doing.
Relying on the Lord, turning to Him in every moment, bringing every problem to Him…
That is how I beware of pride.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
2 Responses
I needed to hear this because sometimes I need to worry less about others’ or pointing theirs’ out to them. Pride makes you better than everyone else around you, just ask you. Only time with the Lord and his teachings, in practice, will help me adjust that, I think. Thanks
Yes, I’ve totally found so much more peace when I just focus on myself <3