PRIDE
- THE CURSE OF THE CHURCH
CHRISTIAN PRIDE?
A ROOT OF SATANISM?
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How
art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
(Isaiah 14:12-15)
There are Christians who would never dream of messing with astrology,
fortune tellers, Ouija boards, tarot cards, or seances.
Yet, they will harbor within themselves the very character and nature
of satan himself.
Satan is the Father of lies and deception, yet Christians often lie and
deceive.
Satan was a murderer from the beginning, yet some Christians hang onto
extreme hatred for years – and hatred is nothing more than a growing spirit of
murder. Millions of Christians have ‘wished’ others dead, hoping that God would
do the killing for them. Some have even prayed, asking God to take someone’s life.
According to our teachings, Pride was the beginning of Satan’s
fall from heaven. Yet, Christians are veritable ‘pride factories’ - manifesting
every kind of pride there is.
Such pride leads to envy, strife, and conflicts of all kinds. Fear of
what people think is a side car of pride. Vanity, boasting, gloating and feelings of
superiority all find their beginnings in the realm of darkness.
Struggles for power and control are rooted in pride. Despising the
weak, the minorities and the inferior is nothing less than ‘sick pride’. Those
who indulge in such attitudes are on their way toward becoming ‘oppressors of the
poor and the weak’. Who is it then that brings oppression in the world?
You think it might be Satan? Yes. It could be. But, it could also be
Christian husbands, pastors, deacons, elders and controlling leaders of all kinds. It
could be rich Christians who revel in prosperity teachings, without having a giving,
sacrificial bone in their body.
The church is ‘rife with pride’! It comes in all kinds of
forms and is measured out in all kinds of expressions. It also comes back to us, heaped
up, pressed down, shaken together and running over. We object and judge those who walk in
pride - and thus set ourselves up for judgment, judgment and more judgment.
An average Christian expresses sixteen varieties of pride in his life,
without ever thinking of those attitudes as ‘pride’ - pure, old, stinkin’
pride. On top of all that, there is one insidious nature of pride which is hard to detect
– spiritual pride.
We elevate ourselves above others because we are so zealous for God and
His kingdom. We devote every waking hour to religious activities and conversations. We
esteem others to be ‘less spiritual’ than we are. The ‘cold
Christians’ are a new breed of ‘a spiritual minority group’. We talk about
them, despise them and avoid them as we would the plague. We would even put them at the
back of the bus, if we had a bus and if we were in the driver’s seat.
Am I talking down to you? Am I setting myself up as some spiritual guru
who is above walking in pride himself?
It sort of sounds like it to me. I think I’m doing a noble thing
by trying to expose the existence of a ‘rampant river of pride’ in the church.
But, am I? Is this just a new strain of ‘pride’, masquerading as a spiritual
search for revival? Probably.
But, who knows. Maybe it will get me to thinking. Maybe God can use my
own words to convict me of my ‘sins of pride’ and cause me to repent and choose
a more Holy Pathway for my feet. I sure hope so.
I sure need something to revive my first love for God and to bring back
that broken and contrite spirit I once had.
Where did it go? I’m not sure. I think the cares of this life, the
deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things has choked out some of the Word
and the Spirit of God from my life. That flow of life and love and compassion for others
is nowhere near as deep and strong as it once was.
Can it come back? Can it be revived? Can I thrive on spontaneous
outbreaks of intercessory prayer as I used to? Can I reach out to the poor and needy as
diligently as I have in the past?
I’m not sure. I’ve tried to pull it all up from within many
times, but it just wasn’t there. I’ve tried to pray it down, but I usually get a
sprinkle instead of a shower or a downpour.
Oh, I keep plugging along. I’m not backsliding outwardly. I keep
serving God and helping others. I keep pouring out words designed to bless many. And God
seems to use my efforts in spite of me.
BUT, I SURE MISS what I once had with him. Sure, I know, - there are
millions of Christians who can identify with me in this one aspect of our spiritual life.
I’ve had many of them express these same sentiments to me, thinking there was
something wrong with themselves. I assured them that it was normal to go through a
’wintertime’ of coldness and deadness. I pointed to my own life and honestly
shared how drained I felt of any spiritual excitement. They were encouraged to ‘plod
on’ in spite of it all.
Was I right in my answers to their frustration? Probably. But, it would
be nice to feel that original fervor again.
Can’t there be a ‘new spring time’ in our lives? Is it
impossible to feel the sap flowing again? Can’t we expect the ‘spring thaw’
to come along? Is there hope that dead branches can have leaves again and that barren
trees will once again bear fruit?
I’ve got a theory. I think it’s possible. I’ve got a
hope. I’m looking for a personal revival within my soul. I’m not trying to be a
part of a ‘new wave of spectacular spirit happenings’. I’m not bucking for
a national revival for our nation. Those kinds of hopes and aspirations are a bit lofty
for me. I’m looking for something more low-key and more practical. I’m looking
for ‘real possibilities’ within my lifetime and within the sphere of my faith
and expectations.
I’ve read about the fantastic revivals of the past. I’m not
looking for mass miracles and super-supernatural manifestations of God’s presence in
the earth.
I want a deep and abiding moving of God’s love working in me. I
want to touch the lives of others with some good solid influence of peace and right-ness
which will make a difference in their lives and in their families.
Sure, I’ve heard of "God’s Recipe for Revival." I
imagine every Christian has heard about 11 Chronicles 7:14. It’s been quoted in major
religious magazines everywhere. It has been preached from the housetops.
If preaching about it would put it into operation – our nation
would be flooded with revival right now.
So, what’s wrong with 11 Chronicles 7:14? There’s nothing
wrong with God’s Word. We all know that. But, maybe, just maybe – those who
preach and write about it – don’t really fulfill the ‘If" portion of
that scripture. Maybe we run off to do the praying, the seeking and even some repenting.
But, let me ask. Have we really humbled ourselves? Have we ever –
really?
So, tell me – what are the six ways you humbled yourself to get
God to do His part of the promise? So what about the other ten ways? Did you humble
yourself in those ways also?
You don’t even know what I’m talking about do you? I dare you
to accept a challenge. I challenge you to find six ways to humble yourself this week? YES,
THIS WEEK! If it’s such a good thing to do, why put it off forever?
Give me ten practical ways in which you can humble yourself within the
next 30 days! Be able to ‘write them down’ and spell them out.
You can’t do it can you? Even if you could – you won’t
will you?
That’s why God said, "IF". James said, "Be ye doers
of the Word and not hearers only, thus deceiving your own selves."
Be honest. You don’t want personal revival in your soul do you?
You don’t want God to heal and deliver anyone in your family, do you? You don’t
want a deep moving power of God to go through your church, do you?
Quit lying to yourself. Say,
"No sir, I do not want any of those things. Sometimes, I
tell myself I do and I’ve thought I did, but I have no interest in taking time to
think up ten ways to humble myself.
I’d rather pray and ask God to do all those things for me and then
wonder why He doesn’t answer prayer. But, I am not about to get serious about
humbling myself.
You can forget that noise. I’m going to lay this paper down and go
back to my normal rut-level of living. In fact, I don’t think I will even humble
myself in one way in the next 30 days, unless I happen to apologize to someone in
the every day course of things.
But, I can’t see myself apologizing more than once or twice in the
whole month. Nope. I really am not going to do any serious humbling of myself in the near
future. So, go peddle your papers somewhere else. You’re barking up the wrong tree.
I’m content with things as they are.
I’ll humble myself about like I diet – seldom if ever –
and then only half-heartedly. I’ll humble myself like I exercise – seldom if
ever – and then only lightly.
I’ll humble myself about like I do a lot of things – someday!
It’s just easier to put it off and off and off and off.
However, I do plan on telling you what a wonderful article this was.
I’ll tell you how it made me think. I’ll say it was a real
‘eye-opener’. I might even tell you that it ‘really convicted me’.
But, then I’m going to go my way and forget all about what you had to say. There are
too many T.V. programs to get involved in and too much politics to talk about and too many
money worries to deal with. I really don’t have time to go around thinking up ways to
humble myself. Really now – do you think anyone is really going to take the Word of
God seriously?
Don’t you realize that the Bible is just for reading and quoting
to others. What makes you think any of us are actually going to become ‘doers of the
Word’?
Don’t you realize we all want the walls of our households to
collapse when the winds and the waves of adversity come to beat against them? Don’t
you realize that we want to build our houses on the sand? We are risk takers. What are the
chances that Jesus really told the truth in anything He ever said? And what are the
chances that His word would be fulfilled in our lives and in our generation?
The ‘ifs’ of the Bible were only put in there so people like
you could have something to worry about. We can have revival and healings and blessings
without humbling ourselves.
Why do you think Jesus died on the cross? He died so we
wouldn’t have to. He gave up everything so we wouldn’t have to give up anything.
We’re riding on the coat-tails of His performance. He suffered shame and humiliation
so we could ride around like the ‘fat cats’ of spiritual prosperity. We are rich
and increased with goods. We have need of nothing. Don’t go around trying to get us
to humiliate ourselves. Jesus suffered shame and humiliation for us on the cross, there is
no need for us to do it ourselves. No way!"
Well, if that’s your last word on the matter, then so be
it.
But, I was hoping to find one hungry,
obedient, seeking disciple of Jesus in my audience.
Is it you? Is there any chance that you are willing to put ’first
things first’ and actually carry out the first step of this fantastic promise of God
for you, your family or your church?
It’s your call. As for me and my house, I’m going to try to
lead the way and actually do this ’humbling thing’ in any way that I can. If you
don’t ever do anything else good with your life – would you pray and ask God to
let me do it and let me do it right.
I know that without Him, I can’t fulfill this scripture any better
than you can. You might even end up doing it more thoroughly than I will. But, I sure
would like to tap into this wonderful promise of God, if I possibly can. But, I imagine
God will see to it that I can’t even do what I preach to others – until I know
that I can never boast in any ability that he gives me. Pride sure is an elusive dude when
you try to squeeze it out of your life. But, I’m going to try.
