Week
6 Trust and Peace
Day 42
Pride Robs Peace
The
new holy nature we have, and which grows ever stronger as it abides in Christ
the Vine, can love as He did. [i]
Andrew Murray
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major roadblock to victory over sin is the
idea that we possess at least some natural characteristics that are worthy and
admirable. This idea of human goodness is so appealing that we don’t at first
understand the travesty of it: if we are essentially good, then we don’t need a
Savior. So long as we cling to the thought that we possess some intrinsic worth
of our own, we will resist full submission to Christ: “But I’ve really been a
pretty good parent,” or “I have always been kind to co-workers,” or… you fill
in the blanks with some long held idea you possess about yourself. These
illusions are dangerous because it is in areas we think we are strong that we
are least likely to humbly depend on God’s help, and are thus most vulnerable
to the enemy’s strategies against us. We balk at the thought that there is
nothing good in us apart from Christ, and yet this is the understanding we must
accept before we have hope of overcoming sin.
No one has ever been able to be free of sin apart from Christ. This is
not a revolutionary thought; we accept the truth of Romans 3:23—“…for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Many of us know this passage by
rote, but do we believe it at heart? In Paul’s day the words just preceding
this verse were revolutionary and incendiary: “This righteousness is given
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no
difference between Jew and Gentile…” (Romans 3:22 NIV). Let’s personalize this
for our day:
…there is no difference between the
beggar in the Wal-mart parking lot and you.
…there is no difference between a drug addict
and you.
…there is no difference between (fill in the blank here with the name of a
person who has made your life difficult because of their many failings) and
you.
Our particular set of transgressions may differ, but the stain of sin
leaves the same mark on us all. If we balk at this statement, we need to come
to the Lord and wrestle the issue out before Him until we can say, with St.
Paul, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving
of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15).
The
humility that follows our acceptance of the fallen state of all human beings relieves us of pride. We
also are liberated from a sense of shocked injustice when other people sin
against us as our perspective is changed from “I’ve been so wronged,” to “We’ve
all been so wrong.” In our personal
relationships we are freed from the misconception that “I don’t like who I am
with him/her” is a sound basis for rejecting another human being. Who we are
with a cup-half-empty grouch should be exactly the same as who we are with a
more upbeat partner; a fellow sinner saved by grace. This
acceptance that everyone is a mess, that all
have sinned and fallen short, eliminates the idea that with someone else we
could be a better person, or that a different person would be better suited to
us. When our loved ones sin against us they need our prayers, not our
rejection. Our Lord has never said, “Surround yourself with people who make you
feel good about yourself and distance yourself from those who make you
uncomfortable.” His way is to stand firm in love even when we hurt Him, and
because the Holy Son of God has remained steadfast for us, we can participate
in His faithfulness and stay fully present in the lives of those He gives us to
love.
Freedom from pride brings wonderful
peace, the peace of humility. Humility allows us to be wronged and yet not sin
in response to that wrong. This is the gift of our Savior, who remains
steadfast in His love for us even as we cause Him pain. Let’s not wrong Him
further by being exacting and demanding with those who have wronged us. Let’s
forgive others in the same way He forgave so that we may participate in the
freedom He purchased for us.
Pray: Lord, please free me of the
pride that robs me of peace with my fellow human beings and with You. Help me
to see what I am so that I can forgive others for what they are. Grant me your
compassion toward people who are hurtful, and keep me from sin in response to
their sin. Help me to respond with Your love, to see their hurt, to pray for
them with compassion, and forgive them just as You have forgiven me. In Jesus’
Name I pray, amen.
~~~
Therefore,
accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given
glory.
Romans 15:7 NLT
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