The Humble Road

        I recently received a quote from C. S. Lewis in his book, "Mere Christianity" about pride.  He made the following statement:  "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next person. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.   First john 2:16 says, "1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."  
     What C. S. Lewis says is so true.  If the competition was removed, there would be no pride.  It is so easy to become proud of our accomplishments and we begin to rate ourselves  in regard to our fellow men and women.   If we seem to become good in our accomplishments when compared to others who seem to fail, then we begin to follow the trail of pride in our lives.  We begin to proclaim, "Get out of the way world, here comes the expert."  It makes no difference in the area of expertise.  We seem to measure ourselves in regard to the person next door or the business in the middle of town and rate our achievements above theirs and so begins the trail of pride.  We might ask ourselves if pride is an issue with us.  Satan used the three issues in the garden of Eden that are mentioned in First John 2:16.  He also used the same three avenues to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ in the garden of Eden. Guess What!  Satan is using the same methodology today in the lives of humanity.  So, yes, pride is an issue.   It is difficult to find a person that is standing before others who is not battling with the sin of pride.  This is true in the area of performing arts, such as music.  We often say that a person is to strive for the opposite of pride which comes out to be humility.  This is a foreign concept for many as the world want us to think of ourselves as great and that we have pulled ourselves up by our own boot straps.  It is God, however, that does the exaltation and not us.  It may sound ridiculous, but there are those that, all of a sudden, become proud of their humility.  Hence, the circle begins once again.  Once you think you have gained humility, you have lost it.  The answer is to stay close to God and to follow His instructions in all that we do, to trust Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.  Praise God that He is still working in our lives.