How does pride effect your witness?

How does pride affect your witness?

I know this is a hard pill to swallow but Pride prevents us from really reaching our full potential with God. I suffer from this and if you say you don’t I will call you a liar. It is the easiest of sins to slip into and the most destructive. There are two stories from scripture I want to share. The first is a continuation from yesterday’s devotional, it is found in Mark 10:42-45, “⁴² Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The disciples were just arguing over who was to be the greatest and Jesus rebukes them in this passage. I have to ask what does it mean to you to be a slave; I have spent a lot of time as a slave to money, trying to fit in, wanting the best of everything. In the end I have learned that spending time with those you love is the greatest gift you can ever receive or give. It will also lead more people to Jesus than you can ever imagine if they see His love reflected from you.  When you get together with friends and the talk is about what you have or what you are going to get people become envious and pride will creep in. It can and will cause hurt feelings that interrupt the relationship and undermine a person’s walk with God.

The other story I want to share is found in Luke 18:9-14, “⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Many times we may find ourselves when dealing with non-Christians coming off as arrogant or prideful. I have seen with my own eyes the trouble that this causes. Especially given the fact we are still human and make mistakes daily. I want to remind you the only difference between myself and a non-Christian is I have entered into a relationship with Jesus and he has forgiven me of my sins. When we start to beat people over the head with the Bible they can see if we are sincere or not.

Don’t allow Pride to keep you from being an effective witness for Jesus. In Proverbs 16:18, “Pride comes before destruction and an arrogant spirit before a fall” God designed us to live in relationship to him and one another. He has told us to pray for one another and carry each other’s burdens not to spread them as gossip. Yes I said it. God has a plan to use each of us and you never know who maybe holding the answer to your prayer. But if you are not willing to share your needs no one else can help you carry it. Praying the Lord bless were ever your shadow falls today.