Humble Pie: A Title-Less Church — Friday
Proverbs 11:2
Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (NLT)
I confided some struggles in a good friend the other day and ended by asking the question, “Am I becoming narcissistic?” To which he humorously and insightfully replied, “Not if you’re asking that question.” Deep down, we know better. We’ve experienced and seen it play out in the lives of others—self-focus is toxic. The assumption that the story of our life is all and only about us is both deceptive and destructive.
Sadly, it’s not an uncommon story for pride to cause an implosion, bringing a person’s life down in shambles. I heard recently about a married man who’d started going to the gym. He got fit and began feeling better about himself, his body image. His confidence helped him stir up the courage to talk with a girl at the gym, who turned out to be kind, listened, asked questions, smiled. She was young, carefree. The man felt wanted, interesting, young again. Eventually, the man confessed this relationship to his wife and told her he was leaving her with the kids to pursue his relationship with the girl at the gym.
Turns out: The girl at the gym was just being nice. He’d crafted a narrative around their conversations that revolved around his story being the prime story. The “budding romance” was nothing of the sort. The fairytale fascination was all in his head. His imaginary scenarios turned out to be ashes and rot. Not only was the story just about him—it was a complete fiction fabricated by the swirl of self-centered desire. And his life crumbled as a result.
Jonathan Edwards once said, “Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil’s reach as humility.” How would humility have accomplished restoration of the marriage above? Imagine how it would have played out differently if the man lived faithfully by their marriage vows. If he’d courageously confessed the sinful fantasy of the imagined story to a safe and trusted friend. If he had humbly served his wife and kids, prioritizing them above himself. We could go on and on.
I’ve shared before and will share it again—there are three words that have devastated lives, including marriages, families, and more: You deserve it. The enemy wants us to get what’s ours. Satan tells us to take what belongs to us. The temptation plays right along with our fleshly desires, and what the world tells us we should pursue. Oh, Satan will hide the fact that getting what we deserve is really something no one would choose in a moment of true clarity.
Let’s decide again today… for the first time or the thousandth… to come to Jesus in humility and ask for His help living life in a way that overflows with wisdom and blessing. May we all avoid the pitfalls of pride and the short-sightedness of focusing on self.
Friday’s Reflection
On our best day, apart from Christ, there’s not a thing we deserve. We can’t earn our own way. We all desperately need Jesus in every corner of our lives. And He wants to give us so much. The question we need to consider is this: “Will I let Him?” You are loved, friend. And always will be.
