A Minute With Pastor — 02/14/2010
The joke goes something like this: What river has four eyes? The answer? The Mississippi River! While that may be true, the biggest “i” is the one found smack dab in the middle of PRIDE. “I” continually gets in the way when pride has captured the heart of its victim.
A small dose of pride in one’s team (e.g. The Ohio State University) or one’s town (e.g. Hilliard: A Pride Community) isn’t necessarily wrong. But a little can quickly mushroom and soon hold the heart as hostage.
The answer for pride has always been the same – deny the crux of pride, which is SELF. Jesus exhorted his disciples with these penetrating words: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Two thousand years later, the perfect counsel is just as relevant! Love God and love your neighbor; not self!