Break Your Pride
By: Donald William
Tags: Faith and Life, Masculinity, Men, Discipline, Faith

Photo by Saul Flores on Unsplash

Masculinity and Faith

Break Your Pride

Have you tried holding a conversation with the guy who only talks about himself and his accomplishments? Not very fun is it? What about the guy that keeps putting himself down?

“I’m just a sinner. I’m no good. It’s all Jesus and none of me because I’m trash.”

You might think this isn’t pride but it is. The focus is still all about them.

How many times have you tried helping your friend who clearly needs it but all you get is,

“I’m fine.”

Meanwhile, they are clearly drowning.

Do any of the above examples strike a chord? Maybe one of them is you.

Whether we admit it or not, we all struggle with pride in one form or another. I struggled for years. I believed I could earn from God by my works. If I could do or be enough then I thought I deserved what I believed I needed from God. When I didn’t receive what I thought I was entitled to, I was left with disappointment and bitterness. Its pride to believe you can earn anything from God apart from what Jesus already did for you. If we could earn from God then greater men than you and I would have done so long ago. But no one has.

Let me be clear. It’s ok to be proud. Being proud of your family, accomplishments and country are natural. What’s not ok is receiving your whole identity from any of these things. Who you are is more than your job title, what your bank account says or the church you attend. Your identity is being a son of God. If you settle that truth in your heart before all else, everything will begin to fall into place.

Here’s the truth. If pride is not dealt with it will grow to corrupt all areas of your life. It’s time we confront pride.

Here are 3 reasons to let go of your pride.

1. Pride is Self Worship

Dictionary.com defines pride as,

“a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.”

Ultimately pride is worshipping yourself. It’s the belief that you are the sun of your solar system, not Jesus. You believe there is no greater way than yours to serve and no greater strength than your own to rely upon.

Acting this way is against who you are as a son of God. You are no longer an orphan who needs to take care of himself by his own means because he doesn’t have anyone. You were adopted by God, Ephesians 1:5. You have a strength greater than your own to lean on in your Father. You are loved beyond measure. There is a Kingdom to serve that is more than you could have imagined on your own.

If the greatest thing you worship is yourself then you are only holding yourself back. You were created for more. You were created for a relationship with God. Humble yourself before your creator and admit that you don’t have it all together and need help. Admitting you need a savior is the greatest moment in a man’s life. Like Bob Dylan said in his Slow Train Coming album, you gotta serve somebody.

2. Pride is Rooted in Shame

I believe that a lot of pride is rooted in shame. You are so unhappy with yourself that you compensate with your accomplishments. You put on a show of being more competent than the other guy. You talk about the women you’ve been with, the money you make or the ways God has blessed you. But underneath it all you are desperately insecure and wanting acceptance. You are afraid to let your mask down and truly be seen. Maybe past failures have made you think that you don’t measure up. This is common and something that can be worked through by admitting your failure in the company of other men willing to pour into your life.

Do yourself a favor and start letting others in. Let men you trust see your failures. Stop letting shame have power over you. Hiding insecurity and shame is the same as protecting it. You don’t need to protect your shame, you need to kill it. Take off the mask of pride. No one is buying it anyways. They want the real you, not the fake one you’ve been trying to sell to the world. Let yourself be seen and known by your Father that loves you and by brothers that will take you in and heal you. True connection kills shame.

3. If you don’t break your pride the Lord will.

This isn’t meant to be a threat but it is a reality. The Lord loves you too much to leave you in your pride. He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, James 4:6. The Lord knows who you are behind the mask of pride and beyond the shame you’re trying to hide. He sees who he created when He dreamed of you. Sometimes the Lord will allow certain circumstances to happen in your life that will absolutely break your pride. You will think He abandoned you. But actually he’s helping you abandon the house you’ve built on sand. There is a life to be built on the sure foundation of His love and not of your works. The call on your life is too good for the Lord to leave you in your pride.

Final Thoughts

Open yourself today and let the Lord in. Choose to be the man who lets go of his pride and admits he needs others. Put down the mask and let others see what you look like after all these years of hiding. Stop making a show of putting yourself down. You aren’t so unique the Lord can’t redeem you. There is a true life to be lived. A life with connection and love. Let go of your pride and let it embrace you today.

Take steps to break you pride today. The life you have to live is worth it.

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