Week 42: Proud
Weekly Chapters:
Mark 6 - Luke 3
Passage of the Week:
Luke 1:50-52
Adjective
1. Feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something regarded as highly honorable or creditable to oneself
2. Having, proceeding from, or showing a high opinion of one’s dignity, importance, or superiority
Thesaurus:
Delight
Dignity
Ego
Happiness
Honor
Joy
Pleasure
Satisfaction
Father God,
As I read Your word today, provide me with the instruction that will allow me to make better decisions, decisions filled with Your love and understanding. Lord, let me see Your message this week.
Amen
Authentic vulnerability:
Pride has both a positive and negative connotation. “She’s a proud woman,” as found in a text from early 1900, usually meant haughty or feelings that one was above others in station. Being proud of who you are and what you have accomplished is a good thing. So when does pride cross the line from positive to negative? I’m a proud person. I know I have worked hard to be where I am. Nothing is easy for anyone. We have all toiled, we all work through messes, we all get hit with things out of our control. It is the standing up and getting out of the muck that makes us proud.
What is your Authentic Truth?
Study:
One of my favorite movies is Pride and Prejudice, based on the novel by Jane Austen in 1813. I love the black-and-white film from 1940 with Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier and was thrilled with the 2005 remake with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen.
The characters display pride in their situation or morals, which blind them to their true selves and feelings.
This pride, the pride that elevates one thinking of themselves over others, is what Jesus despises of the teachers he encounters. And in Mark 12:38-40, Jesus speaks with the teachers who spill doctrine out of one side of their mouth yet cheat the widows. Teachers of the Torah would talk about caring for others, but the teachers would not. The Torah expressed the need to care for the widows and orphans (Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Deuteronomy 14:28-29; Exodus 22:22-23). The teachers of the word of God were lifting themselves in stature yet not backing up what they said with their actions. Their pride in their position took center stage.
Further, Jesus defines pride as one of the sins of the heart in Mark 7:20-23. After the teachers pick on the disciples for not washing their hands before a meal, the teachers say that the disciples are not pure because they do not follow the tradition of hand washing. Jesus speaks to the people saying that the Pharisees and teachers care more about tradition (or man-made social norms) than God‘s word. Further, Jesus says that what goes into your mouth as food has little to do with what pours out of your heart. Pride was one of the sins of the heart because it closes your heart to others.
Again in Mark 10:17-31, the rich man comes to Jesus asking what he must do to gain eternal life. After Jesus recites the Commandments, He tells the man he must also sell all of his possessions, give everything to the poor, then follow Jesus. The man went away sad. In Verse 25, Jesus says it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to go to heaven. Pride in one’s possessions separates man from God.
Our pride can separate us from our chosen Destiny. It can close us off to the blessings God has in store for us. Our pride can shut out the good that others can offer. Jesus wants us to love others, accept others, give ourselves to others, and be the love in the world, sharing His light.
Father God,
When I read Your word, my eyes open to times when I am closed to Your blessings, let my mind be open to Your love and Your light as expressed by the word of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and Your followers from years past. Lord, continue to guide me in my walk with You and open my eyes to Your glory and plan in my life.
Amen.
Homework:
Look for times in your life (present or past) where your judgment of others may have hindered your open heart to growth and promise.
What could you have done differently?
What could open you up to God’s blessings?
