Pride Part 2

"PRIDE" - Part 2

"First pride, then the crash - the bigger the ego, the harder the fall."
Proverbs 16:18 (The Message)

Yesterday I shared with you some insight on the idol of the heart (sin) of pride. Amazingly, most people who struggle with being a "people-pleaser" have major pride issues.

Author and speaker, Lou Prilio, in his book, PLEASING PEOPLE, says that "pride is an insidious thing. Just when you are convinced that you have one of its tentacles under control, another one snakes out to grab you ... Pride is like a garment with a million secret pockets that you're constantly discovering."

In his book, Lou shares a list of questions to help determine if you and I have pride as one of the idols of the heart. I shared several questions with you yesterday, here are some more:

Am I more prone to command than to obey, to teach than to be taught, to speak than to listen?

Do I have little or no respect for authority in general?

Do I become impatient or upset when contradicted in speech, especially publicly?

When wronged, am I unwilling to forgive an offender who has not demonstrated extreme submission or repentance?

Do I invest more resources to establish my own honor than to establish God's honor?

Am I unwilling to admit when I am wrong?

I am inordinately curious about those things that I do not have a biblical need to know?

Am I discontented with my position in life?

Am I ungrateful for God's mercies?

Do I fail to pray?

Am I insensible to the dangers of temptation (being self-confident about handling temptations)?

Am I oversensitive to correction?

Do I have difficulty in being pleasing (because of excessively high expectations)?

Take some time today and work through these questions. I will put the whole list of the website later today so you can download it as pdf handout. Are you wrestling with the idol of pride? Think about it! -- Bill Welte is the President and CEO of America's KESWICK.

Great Quote: What a humbling thought it is, that so often there is earnest prayer in which the desire for our own joy or pleasure is far stronger than many desire for God's glory. No wonder there are so many unanswered prayers! Here we have the secret. God cannot be glorified when that glory is not the object of our prayers. -- Andrew Murray