After a sermon on pride this summer, I received a number of comments and questions pointing in one direction: We get it, Mike, that pride is a heinous sin and can destroy us in many ways. But what about feeling good about a job well done, satisfaction in seeing your child suceed at something they want badly, or rejoicing in a renewed obedience to Christ? Is there a side to pride that is actually good?
The question was asked (not really a question, but a gentle correction was given to me) numerous times, so I set it aside and thought I must blog about it soon. Then someone did it for me, far better and more succinctly than I could. So I pass along the wise reflections of my friend and longtime Lake Forest Ministry partner and servant, Sara Jo Biancofiore. She plans and leads regularly in Kidtropolis at our Huntersville campus. I hope you find her words helpful (thank you SJB):
Hi Mike...Not sure why I'm writing this except writing helps me organize my thoughts! Your sermon on pride during the first week of Esther really sparked some thoughts in me...here it goes...
I used to wonder why it was "bad" to feel "proud" of myself...Why God hated pride so much? Sounded a little selfish to me. How could such a natural emotion like "feeling proud" be wrong?
Then a quote from Beth Moore made everything clear...she said, "God doesn't hate pride because it slights Him, but because it destroys us." I really had to think hard about that...but it IS true...God doesn't want us to be prideful not because He wants all the credit; but because pride leads to a false sense of self earned abilities, which leads to self reliance, which always leads to self destruction...
we take over the driver's seat and inevitably crash!
Feeling proud of accomplishments=false sense of self earned abilities=self reliance=self-destruction
But then I still wondered how an emotion like "feeling proud" of something was so bad...and as I've grown to learn...it's not the emotion that's bad, it's what you do with it....so really, the downhill cycle starts with step two...the false sense of self earned abilities.
What if...when you step back and look at something you've accomplished and feel proud...that the cycle looked more like this:
Feeling proud of accomplishments=acknowledging your GOD GIVEN abilities that fueled your accomplishments=thankfulness and asking God how HE could use those for His Glory
I think the world needs to know that feeling "proud" of something is not bad...it's a gateway to finding how God wants to use you in this world.
Sincerely, Sarah Jo
