“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Romans 12:3
February 6, 2023
C.S. Lewis chose the words “The Great Sin” for his chapter on pride in Mere Christianity. Rightly so. Pride is the sin that we can see so clearly in others, but not so easily in ourselves. The question is not “Do I have it?” The reality is that pride is at the heart of our sinful selves. We all have the tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Paul in writing to the Roman believers threw the penalty flag on the great enemy of humility. The body of Christ cannot function effectively to the degree that we look the other way on our own pride. C.S. Lewis makes us squirm when he says, “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” Pride complains and passes judgment on God. It is competitive by its very nature (Lewis) in that it is in competition with everyone else’s pride. Pride sees oneself as better than others. It does not blush at being ungrateful. Are you becoming very uneasy over these diagnoses of “heart disease?” Join the club. How do we go about biblically fighting pride? At this point we can begin by humbling ourselves in asking, “What does it look like?” and “How much of it do I have?” Talk to God about it (we are not through with it yet). In the meantime, to quote C.S. Lewis again, “The first step is to realize that one is proud. . . at least, nothing can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.”
H
“O Lord, I know you see my heart as only you can. Search me and teach me the way of the Savior.”