Lord, your killing me!

Just when you thought you had finally started to figure out God’s plans and ways, He blows your mind again! This is why it is important to stay in the Word- His precious word. Oh how deep are His Words! How worthless is human knowledge! It is so easy to get drawn in and believe that you have this Christian walk all figured out-that you’ve finally got a working formula- this could hinder deeper revelations from the Omniscient God. There is nothing as deceitful as the human heart. It is as stable as the ocean waves, easily tossed and blown by the powerful winds of fleshly cravings and lusts. And if we do not keep watch, the ravenous lion, the devil, will shred us to pieces at the slightest opportunity! So, help us God to work out our faith with fear and trembling, not to create idols in our hearts as we falsely think we are serving you. For the way of true salvation is truly narrow, very few find it, and even fewer walk on it all the days of their lives.

Covetousness is a major Christian pitfall. We covet everything from money to other people’s ministries. We often blur its ugly image by shading it with terms like, “This is my purpose here, not that over there! I won’t move or do anything until this door opens!” We want to choose the way and manner in which we serve God. We want to tell Him what we want. The clay telling the potter, “I don’t want to be a coffee mug, make me a flower vase!” Lord, forgive us, for being so arrogant and prideful! Our desires often fight to overpower your Will in our lives. We want to run things our way and still pretend that we are following your lead!      Oh wretched creatures that we are!

The scary thing is that you, Oh God, most times let us chase our worthless desires – to our own judgment and downfall. If we keep pestering you to have our own selfish way, you actually step back and allow us to go ahead- that, Oh Lord is an absolutely terrifying thought to me! For we can run ahead (thinking we have heard from you) to our own destruction! Humble us, teach us to REALLY listen to your voice, not just “think” that we have heard your voice when we have actually heard the whispers of our own voices echoing our selfish ambitions and lusts!

Discernment, Oh Lord! I plead for the knowledge and Wisdom that can only come from you! Keep me searching, seeking diligently. Keep me humble, for worldly knowledge puffs up and leads me astray, but your Wisdom Oh Lord keeps me broken before you. Who am I that I may know the mysteries of the Great God? Yet, your precious word promises me that I can know your wisdom, if only I ask of you, if only I seek diligently from you-they can be revealed! Oh blessed thought, Amazing Grace!

So ruin me, wreck me, and kill me daily! For it is only when I pick up my cross and fall in line behind Jesus- only then, can I be sure that I am on the narrow road. All other ground is sinking sand.

VALIDATION: What you can't get enough of

Question. Know why you love your best friend? Answer.Because they make you feel good about yourself!

 Watch a bunch of girlfriends walking down a street or in a shopping mall. I guarantee you to hear statements like- " aww your hair is so cute girl! Am so jealous!" or "this  necklace is perfect on you, it brings out your big brown eyes!" or better yet " your the best girlfriend ever and we will be bffs forever!!"

By the way BFF stands for- Best friends forever- just in case your as old as I am and can't keep up with the acronyms!  The point I am trying to make is that we like to hang out with people who make us feel good about ourselves- those who seem to find us fascinating or those who just show a big NEED for us. 

Allow me a few examples.

I absolutely love being around my mum coz she will always find ways to make me feel NEEDED! "Papa, please check out the tv- something's just isn't  working right! See this kettle, a few days ago it sparked and I am scared it might burn down the house the next time I  turn  it on!".    etc

 On my part, I heap praise after praise  on every meal she prepares for me-  I will rave about her cooking- not only because it is true but also because I know she feeds off it and it makes her smile twice the more! Plus- It guarantees that I  get invited again for dinner soon!

Let's look at couples in love.  Those in the 'healthiest' of relationships can't seem to stop smothering each other with sweet nothings. It could make you sick just hanging around them. "Baby, hold my hand, you know I couldn't cross the road without you!" " honey if you don't come to that party with me, I ain't going!"  

" Buttercup, if you ever left me, I would die!".  Blah blah..

That couple might sound silly, but they are not about to split up any time soon! They have discovered VALIDATION.

If validation is such a big deal ,you may ask why do some women stay in abusive relationships?

 Easy answer to that one.There is a twisted version of validation at play.

 Example.

 A crack addict pimp  who beats up on his girl. He screams at her- " You $&@$!  where is the money today? How am I going to get a fix today? What are we going to eat tonight huh?"

The woman is made to feel that if she doesn't come through- then her boyfriends life is going to crumble. So she is validated in feeling NEEDED- even if she is only being used- the sense of being needed for another human beings survival is so big it will actually make her stay! 

" Poor  Danny, without me, he wouldn't last a week out here!" She thinks to herself.

On the other hand- Danny the pimp thinks of the girl as being a total wreck without him. " Who would protect you against dangerous men  who may want to hurt you or abuse you huh? Who would date or  want a whore like you anyway  huh ?"

It's really twisted thinking- but it works!

Final example. A man's friends. A guy will only hang around guys who listen to and respect his opinion. If guys keep putting a man down every time he talks- I guarantee you that brotherhood is breaking up! The guy needs to feel he belongs in the "crew". Every guy has his place in his crew.

There's the nerd, there's the cool suave calm and collected dude, there's the hustler- the guy who can get anything done, there is the macho all-up -in-your - face know- it -all guy, and of course there is the ' baby' of the crew- the darling of the team.

All these guys stay in the crew because they find validation there. There is a personal  niche carved just right for each one of them- and they snuggle tight in there!   (men just won't get mushy enough to admit it!)

It is wired in all of us. Validation is a natural craving. An addiction- and we all need a dose  of it sooner or later- we go searching for it, hunting for it, fighting for it!

That's why Hollywood is so messed up! There is a bunch of broken people trying to balance the fame in the public and in their private lives! They know how to receive attention, but they don't know how to give it! So two superstars can't really stay married if each of them is in competition with each other for affection! No one between them is sober enough to back off and be the primary giver- there is no sacrifice here. It's get get get! Gimme this and gimme that!  The famous actress gives an ultimatum-"Me first or the highway mister!"  The actor thinks-" I don't need this stress, I can do better! Does she even know who I am? Who wouldn't want a famous, wealthy hunk like me huh?" .....and so Mr and Mrs Smith break up... and they go back to chasing that illusive 'perfect partner'.

If I had the choice of working for a boss who was a sour puss and always put me and my work down but paid good money or for a struggling entrepreneur who loved my work and praised my efforts to the rest of the team at every opportunity- but couldn't pay me well enough- guess who I would work for?

 Validation is absolutely powerful!

 That's why kids are in gangs pulling triggers before they are 14. That's why that girl next door works the streets. She feels like a queen every night. Her home is broken, father and mother are messed up- but strangers make her feel "special and wanted". Intoxicating stuff this validation is!

That's why God litters the Bible with words of love and affection. God wants to validate you. He wants to let you know your worth! The Bible tells us that we are children of a King- we are princes and Princesses!

The Bible tells us that God loved us so much that He sent His ONE and ONLY  Son to die for YOU and ME!

 I don't know about you- but that statement bleeds with validation!

God knows we are messed up people- craving, lusting, dying- to be wanted and to belong! 

And He says "Come, come to me, the validation your looking for, you will find it in me- not in others or things!

 Only I completely satisfy your soul"

Your thirsty. So what are you waiting for? Drink. Drink deep from Jesus. He will really tell you who you are..... and perhaps that ache- that eternal craving to be wanted and to belong- will begin to diminish...... just  maybe!

Why God MUST be all about His own Glory

What is glory? The dictionaries say brilliant radiant beauty or Magnificence.

Hmmm... I would add that someone's glory is the overflowing essence of that person. The weight of one's importance. Not his worth but the display of his worth. The shadow that tells you how big or important he is. That's my definition of glory.

So why is everything geared to be about Gods glory? Why are we instructed to give God glory? Why does God say " I will not give my glory to another?" Why is this glory such a big deal that we Christians are even encouraged to suffer for  'Gods glory'?

To answer this, I want to argue that someone must deserve glory in order to demand it or to be worthy of it. In other words, you must earn it. It must be due to you otherwise you shouldn't get it in the first place!

So this becomes the big question- is God worth the glory that we are commanded to give Him? Pretty easy question for me.  Anyone who can speak millions of galaxies into existence, anyone who is infinite and all seeing and all knowing and powerful, anyone who is not bound by time and calls the shots -that person can get my praise any day! I wouldn't hesitate to give Him His due glory! He is worth it! All glory is due to God- and Him alone!

Okay, so if God is worth it, why should He demand it? Shouldn't it just come naturally from his subjects? Shouldn't they be singing non stop about His wonders? You would think so, right? I mean, it's the only logical conclusion, isn't it? But it doesn't happen. Reason? Sin.

At the fall of man, he became self centered.  Envy, jealousy, pride, selfishness, conceit all these took over in mans heart. This means his focus turned in wards. Away from God. He wanted everything for himself. Most of life's problems are due to this terrible disease- the ' me, I and myself' mentality. Anyway, that's the reason we don't give God all the glory that He deserves- coz we are so self absorbed!

But isn't God love? Doesn't God give us free will and free choice? So why should he trumpet about Himself? Why should He advertise Himself and demand for us believers to constantly advertise Him and put him on a pedestal?

It's because of LOVE!  God's demand for His glory is actually for our own good! Let me explain.

If you believe that God is the ultimate being, the one where the buck stops, then it should be easy for you to believe that He is the most valuable thing  you could ever receive, right? Bread is not better than the baker. Money is not more important than the money owner. The worth of the creator can not be compared to that of the creature or anything the creature has made or values. This is what I am trying to say- There is nothing more valuable than God. There is nothing God can give you that is equal to Himself. That is, if God were to  give you everything He owned but Himself, he would be holding out on you!  It's only until He offers Himself- that's when you become truly rich! There is nothing more valuable than God! That's coz He is the source of all things! So God calls us to worship and glory in Him because He is the best anyone can get. Best of the best! Him offering Himself to us is pure LOVE. That's  why He asks us to leave all the worthless things we are chasing in this world and chase Him! Get it?  

If God didn't invite us to enjoy Him, He would be holding out the best from us! If God didn't make a big deal about Himself and asked us to worship something else, He would be cruel and mean. If God didn't idolize Himself but idolized something else, He would be committing idolatry! So God MUST be all about His glory so that His Love can be displayed! Celebrating God's glory is celebrating God's Love for us!

Now, the question we have been trying to answer is- why should we suffer for Gods' glory? Why should I as an individual suffer on earth  for His glory? What would motivate a sinful man like me to go through pain and suffering for God's glory? Same reason again. LOVE!

If you love someone, you will do what is in their best interest right? You would give everything you have to prove it, right? In a case of true love, you would cross mountains and rivers, you would endure hard times to prove your love was genuine, right? You would move heaven, earth and galaxies to prove your point, correct? Coz that is what TRUE love does.Love counts no costs. Love just loves! 

Hmmm... So if I love God, this means I will do anything to prove my love for Him right? I would withstand verbal  abuse at school from all the ' cool' kids. I would read my Bible on a friday night instead of partying and engaging in all manner of immoral acts. I would- like the apostle Paul,  count it all nothing in comparison to serving God. Like Jesus, I would lay down my life gladly to bring Glory and Honour to His name. This means I would gladly SUFFER and even DIE. To prove my love for Him.

But what would motivate me to love God this much? What would motivate me to give Him all the glory? Don't you get it yet? JESUS! Look at the cross. See Jesus, and see God's love. It's easy to love God when you realize that He loved you even before you ever thought of Loving HIM! While we were yet still sinners, God sent His only son to die for us! That's motivation right there! I give God the glory because He is worth it and because He is love and because He actually cares for a sinful rebellious sinner like myself! Plus He promises me eternity in Heaven if I endure! That's my motivation!

So if God deems it fit for me to suffer or go through pain for His glory and for my personal spiritual growth, guess what? 

I will say there is glory in my pain! I will praise the Lord my God to whom all honour and glory is due- forever and ever! AMEN!

Glory in My Pain? You kidding me?? PART 2

For me to understand pain and human suffering and especially in the Christian context, I had to come to two realizations.

Realization One. Sin brought pain.

 Because of the choice made by our first parents in the garden of Eden, pain and suffering had a red carpet rolled out for them.  Any woman who has screamed or cried during child birth can thank Eve for that. Any man who is frustrated by his job and  his salary can salute Adam for that.

Realization number Two. God ALONE  gives the okay or go ahead for pain to happen.

 Humans can dish out pain on each other and  the devil  can inflict pain on innocent people  ONLY if God allows it!

God is the pain referee. He is the only one who can blow the whistle to stop the inflictors from continuing to harm their victims. Let me explain.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God declared judgement on them. Adam was never just going to stroll through a beautiful orchard and eat whatever fruit he wanted. Even the chickens that used to come when he called were not going to be so easy to catch anymore. He would have to give chase and sweat and get frustrated before he could   grab his dinner.

Pain free childbirth was lost even before it was ever experienced. Eve was promised a bit of hollering.

So, God did not cause the pain- He ALLOWED it. In other words, God was saying “You guys were having it easy when you did it my way, but now, since you value your independence so much, I am going to  let you carry the consequences of your choices.”

Allow me a few more examples.

 In the book of Job, we see that the Devil had to seek permission to hurt Job. The Devil has no authority to just run around and do whatever he wants-he must run his plans by the all knowing, all powerful God first.  If the Almighty says  “okay, do whatever you want but don’t kill him” The devil will squeal in delight and come at you with everything he can muster. But  if God says “nada!” Then the poor devil shrivels hangs his head low and takes off sulking. We all know the answer that God gave in Job’s case!

The example of Jesus. In the gospels, we see the mob and Pharisees try to kill Jesus several times but they fail. A simple explanation is given for this- ‘because his hour had not yet come.’ What that statement means is that God had not given the go ahead…. Just  yet. God delayed His consent so that Jesus could first accomplish what He needed to do. The  point here is God has the last word.

The example of Paul.  Paul had a “ thorn in his flesh” He asked God several times to take it away but God said, ”Nah, just hang in there with it Paul, you will be fine!”  Do you see that?  God didn’t give  the pain, but He ALLOWED it to be there and to STAY there!

There are many  other  examples, but let me give one more. Dictators. Horrible rulers who kill and oppress fellow  human beings. Herod, Hitler, Idi Amin and millions of others. Guess who let’s them come to power? Our loving God. God himself says that he sets up and topples rulers. He raises up Kingdoms and Kings and he brings them down. He ‘allows’ these horrible rulers  to come to power and rule.God DOES NOT like or approve what they do, but he LET’S  them inflict pain on others. We will explain why in a bit. Right now the main point that I want you to grasp is that God ALLOWS pain into our lives. I hope those are enough examples to drive that point home.

To answer the why God allows pain question, one of the things we have to look at is purpose. Yes, pain and purpose are not strange bed fellows. They go quite well together like bread and meat. And in God’s case, the end justifies the means. Let me explain that last statement.  If God thinks (KNOWS!) that some kind of pain will fulfill his purposes- guess what? Somebody is about to start hurting Big time!

Let’s look at Job’s story again. The devil comes to give an account of himself to God ( and to probably seek permission to inflict  some pain on some hapless people!) and after  inquiring about the devil’s latest travel itinerary, God asks the fallen angel whether he had  noticed Job. For those of you who are slow, God was basically bragging on Job. In essence what God was saying was “ Do you see how Job brings me glory?” And the devil in his wickedly sly style finds an opportunity to slip in and find a means to satisfy his sadistic nature. He tells God that his theory for why Job was so faithful is because God had put a “ hedge of protection about him.” You know how the rest of the story goes but there is one point I want you to see. Why did God allow it? Because God KNEW  this was a perfect chance for His glory to be displayed. God in his omniscience knew that Job was going to remain faithful despite the calamities and tragedies that the devil was going to bring onto him! So it pleased God almighty to let Job be smitten  with physicall, emotional and material  disaster. Pain. Absolutely Raw Pain! In the end, God got the last laugh. He got all the glory from Job’s afflictions!

Let’s look at Jesus’ story again. Why did Jesus die? Why was God’s own son condemned to the worst kind of death at the time? Why did God ALLOW (remember this word?) His beloved and only begotten Son to be crucified?  So that sinners might be saved,right?  For what end? For what reason? What’s the purpose here? We said that God uses pain for His purposes. So for what purpose did God use His own son’s death? Same answer as in Job’s case- For His Glory!!  Get it?

We who are sinners give God glory for sending His only begotten Son to save us through His death on the cross! So guess who get’s the last laugh again? God. His glory shines brightest when the peoples of the earth considers the death of Christ on the cross! We PRAISE ( read give glory) God for sending us His son Jesus to die for us. He get’s glory for the suffering and death of His Son!

Hmmm.. now I know what some of you guys are starting to think. Is God an ego maniac who would go to great lengths just to have His glory displayed?  Does He regard my life and feelings as just a means for an  ego boost? I thought God was love?  So why do I get the feeling that my pain is being merely USED for God’s glory?  Let’s look at these questions in the next blog……. TO BE CONTINUED!

Glory in My Pain? You kidding me !?

I don't know about you but I don't like pain. I don't mean the pain you get from a game of soccer where little fellows keep kicking your shins till your limping for weeks.I also don't mean the pain from  the bruises you get from falling down  the staircase because you have become too fat to keep your balance.I can handle those. I am not a wimp! 
No, I am talking about Mega life pains.Death.Divorce.Physical,Emotional and Sexual Abuse of children and spouses. Widowhood. Rejection by family and friends.Persecution on religious grounds.Physical handicaps resulting from accidents.False Accusations. Paying the consequences of other people's mistakes.Chronic illnesses.War and Genocide. Crippling poverty. Racism and Segregation.Being misunderstood ....... those kind of pains.Who likes them? I surely don't!


When I first got born again, this pain and suffering business  was furthest from my young mind. In my 8 year old cranium,God was Santa Clause. Keep up good behaviour and Papa Santa would reward you for your efforts. I liked the deal! Better yet, it worked! I was rewarded a lot  for being a "nice boy". Then I grew up.


In my high school days, I noticed something different at play. All nice people were not exactly "blessed" or "showered with gifts" in my  view. There seemed to be a lot of pain being dished around- and whoever was dishing the stuff out was not discriminating. It seemed everybody was getting their allotted share.Good and bad people equally got served some pain rations. Sometimes it seemed as if the bad guys actually got less while the good guys got the bigger portions! Then in college, I started thinking that if you worked hard and honest,God would bless you with lots of money and you could then at least use it to buy out a lot of these crazy packets of pains that kept showing up at peoples door steps. I know, I know, of course I was naive! Later on, I discovered money didn't buy away as much pain as it actually brought, if not more! I hadn't read my Bible very seriously by then. But then I started to. The Holy Book is littered with painful Portraits and Mosaics.Two of them really caught my eyes. The Jesus and Paul Mosaics. They left my mouth wide open! I stiffened and got a little scared.No,  I actually got a LOT scared! I was petrified! I wasn't sure I wanted to be a Christian anymore! Where was the Santa I once knew? Wasn't everything supposed to be rosy and nice after I chose to be a good person? Was I blackmailed with empty promises when I was introduced to Christianity ? I was starting to think so!


Jesus and Paul. Well, if you haven't read their life story's on earth,let me just warn you that they are laced with fatal doses of pain.Mega pain! Of course I had read and heard of Job's story, but it wasn't till after re- acquainting myself with the Jesus story and the stranger-than-fiction life drama of  Apostle Paul that got me looking at Incredible  Job and Peter the Rock in a brand new light. But that was much later. At that moment, all I could think about was- "Jump ship now! Why should you suffer like this for like 7 or 8 decades? Gee, you might not even make it that long with this Jesus tag around your neck! You could suffer and die before your even 30!"What was worse, was my perception of the purpose for the suffering. " All this pain and for what? God's glory? Are you kidding me? Me suffer so that some Supernatural being can get a kick from it? Forget it!" I wanted out.
 The motto "Let's drink, eat and be merry  for tomorrow we die"- started sounding like the best  advice any body had ever come up with since Adam!


But God in His mercy and Grace wasn't ready to lose this little miffed and self seeking worm due to some simple facts about human pain and God's glory. He just laughed at my tantrums and waited patiently till my little black head had stopped steaming, then, He graciously dropped a few grains of understanding  to penetrate my thick skull.   .... to be continued....

The Day that God Died

HE is blindfolded but He knows there is a heavy left hook about to smash into His right cheek in 3 seconds. Before the soldier on the right grabs the stick to hit him- He already knows its coming down his torn and sore back. His time is running out. Death is beckoning. He sighs long and  painfully.

It feels just like seconds ago when He was creating these limbs. He remembers forming the calves of the leg that is about to kick Him in the ribs. His fingers had lovingly shaped the leg....knowing it was going to be a Roman soldier's leg. A very strong roman soldier!  He staggers and falls over ...knowing exactly where His palms will be bruised when He hits the ground.

He braces Himself for the crown of thorns that is about to be forced on HIS head. Ahhh yes. He can remember this very thorn bush-where these thorns came from. He had planted and  watched the thorn bush grow- and He had always known it would form His mock crown!

As a strong and calloused Roman hand  reaches out and grabs his beard to yank Him to His feet, He let's out another sigh- He knows the worst is yet to come. He is not thinking about the physical crucifixion- the most degrading and painful death designed for the 'lowest'. No.  Yes of course the crucifixion will be extremely painful and unbearable- BUT that's not what He is worried about-No! 

His mind is pre occupied by something else. Something infinitely worse than a cruel death! 

He is dreading the moment He will feel all alone and rejected. The moment when the sins of the world will all be  hurled on Him and His Father.... His dear loving Father will turn away from Him. 

He trembles thinking about the moment His Holy father cannot look at Him anymore! When their fellowship will be broken for the very first time! When He will feel His Fathers love withdrawn!

That's what He is dreading the most! 

That's going to hurt. That's going to hurt really really bad... He feels His knees become weak as he shudders at the thought. He falls under the weight of the cross He has been forced to carry. Catching his breath. Breathing heavily and consciously. Every second now counts.... every tic of the clock pushing Him closer to His most dreaded minute! When the Father will hide His face from Him!

Just moments ago, He and His father and the Spirit had created the universe from nothing. They had spoken planets into existence. With His own word, He had flung the the countless stars into the galaxies- and the angels had squealed in delight! Clapping like little children. He remembered the "uuus" and "ahhhs" when the Father declared " Let there be light!'- in His thunderous authoritative voice!

 Just awhile ago, they had watched Adam take His first breath- dust becoming flesh and bones and sinews and muscles! The Holy spirits' breath filling new  human lungs for the very first time! All the creatures had stopped dead in their tracks- heaven had been silent - watching with bated breath-knowing they were watching the most loved creature being ushered into existence! God was creating a creature in His own image! This was the climax of creation! Pin drop silence as the clay-man slowly rose to his feet and looked around,confused unsteady, trying to understand his surroundings! 

And now....the unthinkable  was happening! The creature was beating the creator! Cursing and beating THE HOLY ONE! 

The tiny man  was ordering Him- The INFINITE ONE, the ALMIGHTY, to pick up His cross!  How could this be? 

The angels huddle closer and whisper as they look down on the INFINITE one breathing His last on the cross!

Puzzlement fills their pure faces- one of them could easily massacre this whole Roman army in a matter of seconds! Just give the word and Arch Angel michael could take out the planet in a flash!

But No.... They have been ordered to do nothing.... NOTHING!  All they can do is watch. Watch...while these wretched vile little fleshlings  beat and curse the HOLY ONE! 

What could this mean? 

3 days later the angels understand! THE HOLY ONE is alive! HE has risen! 

It was the Redemption plan! He died for these vile, filthy little humans! The promise has been fulfilled! These little humans have been redeemed by the blood of the HOLY ONE! They are now welcome to enter the HOLY ONE's presence! Heaven-the Holy place- is now open to sinners!

The angels rush and fall down at His feet! They hide their faces with their wings  for He is ablaze  with His glory.... again! His face is like fire! His countenance is blinding light!

They fall on their faces in worship and sing .. " HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!

THE HOLY ONE looks down with a smile and nods at them! HE whispers.... but it thunders and shakes heaven! HE says.... " It is finished! The Plan has been fulfilled!" 

... And Heaven breaks into celebration.......

How the Devil got his name

Your biggest hinderance to finding God or having a rich relationship with God- or even truly following Jesus- is not the devil,not your enemies,not money or the pleasures of the world. Your biggest problem, your worst enemy to living in harmony with God or fellow men is Pride. Pride in my opinion, is the deadliest of all sins. If all other sins are like blisters that slow or hinder your walk with Jesus- then pride is the surgeon's scalpel that actually amputates you!

Pride screams rebellion. Pride says-' I know better!'

Ever wondered what sin is most distasteful to God? Of course God hates and judges all sins equally- but there is one whose stench is even more nauseating in Gods nostrils than any other- pride! 
See, the problem with pride is that it's a comparison. Pride says I am "better, smarter, richer" etc. It's a prejudice. If I am proud of being a good writer- the problem is not that I think that I am a good writer- the problem is that I "think" I am a better writer than you!

If your proud of your wealth- the problem is not that you can afford all the nice things you want- it's that you can buy "better" things than I can, it's that you have more zeros in your bank account than I do. Pride degrades others. Pride looks down on others. Pride is smug and self important- and that's what God really hates! This is because in God's eyes, we are all puny little helpless sinners! 


Why do you think the first commandment is " Thou shalt have no other gods besides me?" God is making a statement. He is saying- " I am the ultimate". Therefore, idolizing anything or anyone else is the creature's attempt at standing up to it's creator and saying- " I don't need you- am good all by myself!" Not the wisest of moves!

See,the very word -God -denotes a standard higher than any other. Set apart. Above all the rest. He is the holiest, the greatest, the best, the supreme being. He is where the buck starts and stops. There is none other like Him. So any attempt to compare or raise anything else to His worth is a personal insult to who He is. No one is like God. He is in a class of His own. Anyone who dares mess with that clear line of protocol is asking for it! 


The bible tells us that Satan was an angel in God's service before his rebellion. He was an arch angel. A leader of angels. Kind of like a commander in the army. Unfortunately,that was not good enough for Lucifer. He had to have more. His lust for power and glory originated from pride.He looked at himself and thought-"Look what I am! Now I will rise up and be even more glorious! I will take up God's position and I will be the ultimate-everything and everyone will bow to me!"

A created being who decided he could over throw his creator! Pride blinded him to the fact that he was on the level of angels-created- and not God's-the creator.

The devil and angel Michael can have degrees of comparison (they are both created beings)- but God and satan have no basis for comparison argument or fight.

God outclasses anything and anyone infinitely! 


So how does pride cause you problems? How does pride compromise your faith or walk with God?

Pride gives you stiff knees. Pride doesn't bend for no one. Pride won't let you admit your faults, weaknesses,insecurities or doubts. Pride says- "I got this."-When you don't really have anything in control. Pride will suggest that you can live life how you want because it's your life,right? Pride will suggest that you can break an addiction because it's "beneath you or unbecoming of you!" Pride will make you cause a scene at a restaurant if the waiter gets your order wrong- coz your standard wasn't met! 
Remember- pride only seeks to insert distance and segregation- it never seeks to build bridges or unite. Pride brags -" I am up here and your down there!" 


A honest atheist-one who has swallowed his pride- will admit that his unbelief is not lack of evidence for a God - but that he has chosen (read pride!) to ignore the evidence of a Supreme being.A honest atheist will admit that his rejection of faith is his unwillingness to bow to a higher power than himself. 'Why should I submit?' he asks. That statement reeks of pride! 


Pride comes in various forms. The deadliest kind is the subtle kind ; the intentionally -unintentional pride! I call it the ' pride of humility'. C.S Lewis said that the best way to find out how proud you are is to monitor YOUR reaction to someone else's pride. If- for example-you think that the other guy at the meeting was so 'stuck up' and you don't understand why anybody got his ' conceited humor'- then you have got serious pride problems! Your just probably mad and envious that you weren't such a hit when you gave your presentation. See,at the heart of pride is an insatiable hunger for power. You wanted something that someone else got- you are hurt or disappointed that it was ultimately somebody else who got the, credit, praise,acknowledgment,power, control or influence that you had wanted for yourself.


So how does ' hidden pride' sabotage your faith?

If I think I am a better Christian than you are because I don't fall for the same sins that you do, then I am conceited. If I think I am a better person than he is,because I have my whole life planned out while he doesn't - I have a problem with pride. Pride takes the focus from my faults to yours- I judge you while I exonerate myself. I put you on a scale without weighing myself first. I am acquitted but your not. Your the problem or part of the problem while I am not. You have a log in your eye while I have 20/20 vision.

The devil relishes in this kind of thinking- he encourages and spurs it on.

God on the other hand,detests and gags at this kind of outlook.


So how should we live with pride? You can't escape it. It's there. The moment you start thinking you don't have pride issues- that's when you should be the most concerned! Live very consciously of pride. Always nip it in the bud as soon as you identify it in your vicinity.

Don't get it mixed up- self confidence or 'being comfortable in your own skin' and pride are 2 different things- but sometimes the lines get blurry there too!

David the Psalmist and Israel's greatest human king, had a healthy perspective of pride- he asked "Who is man that you regard him Lord, he is but a worm!"

I don't know about you but being compared to a slimy slug is far from a compliment! If you don't see yourself as dirty and unworthy of Gods grace, love and mercy.... if you have no love, no compassion for fellow human beings and you readily look down your nose at them for whatever reason..... guess what?

You got the pride problem.BIG pride problem!

You must always be broken,undeserving and humbled in the presence of God. Any other status is conceited! Vain.


Remember, your heart is not big enough for your pride and God- one must rule, one MUST exit! 


The devil is called the 'Father of lies'. That means he manufactures lies. He sits down and designs lies! He's an architect- an expert on building up lies. My theory is that the only reason the devil has not bowed down and repented before God is because He is conceited! He has cheated himself into believing he can still beat God. He still believes he can de-throne God. He still thinks that if he can sabotage the human race- which God loves so dearly- that if he can get enough 'rebellious sinners' around himself- then the ' gates of hell could prevail against God!' That he could actually defeat God! Can you believe that?  ( but that's just my own theory!)
Poor devil-he's got that deep pride! Lies and pride are an ugly combination.

How do you stop the madness that ensues from such a deadly mix?


Remember, you cannot crush pride with a one time prayer marathon- you have to manage it- keep it in check as it were. With Jesus, all things are possible. You must choose to die to self- on a daily basis!


Satan moved from being an Arch-Angel to a devil- just like that. One second he was in the presence of God's glory,majesty and splendor with the name Lucifer, the next second, he had a new name and a very very sketchy reputation!



I think this quote by Rick Warren puts pride in perspective: 

We aren't God and never will be. We are humans. It is when we try to be God that we end up most like Satan, who desired the same thing!

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