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| Pride? |
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Love is NOT a feeling - Love IS an act of my will!!! Jesus gave us the example of what real love is - in spite of all His human feelings He gave Himself for us! Pride is one of love's fiercest enemies. Pride says 'no' when love wants to put others first. What is pride? Webster says first it is a sense of one's own worth; self-respect, - second it is undue self-esteem; haughtiness, and third it may be a feeling or object of delight. We think of the person who is full of pride to be someone who feels extremely good about themselves. That person who sees themselves as a little bit (or maybe a lot) above those around him. We may feel intimidated by people who exhibit this attitude. We may see their faults clearly and wonder how they could think so highly of themselves. Let me pose a question. What if the person thinks exactly the opposite about himself? What if the person is convinced that they are 'nothing' - 'nobody' - 'will never get anything' - 'no one loves them' - 'will always be alone' - well --- you get the idea! What is that person exhibiting? The first definition of pride was: a sense of one's own worth and self-respect. I ask you this.... if a person is continually focused on their own self-worth - whether good or bad - is it not in reality just another form of pride. Despair, depression (pride turn inside out!) - both come to steal our joy and to focus our attention on the "me" and "I" of life. Check the - me's and the I's - in your vocabulary. Honestly check how many times you use them - not only in spoken words - but in your thoughts. How do you speak and think of yourself? Is it in negative terms? Check the 'meditations of your heart'. This is the beginning - That is why Jesus instructed us to be renewed by the transforming of our MINDS!! We must continually choose to 'turn off' the negative thoughts - and focus our minds on what the Bible says about us. It is hard when you have allowed your mind to 'think what it wants'! We were lied to somewhere along the way when we were told that we could not control what we think. That is one of Satan's major deceptions. He delights in our depressed and negative thinking. By an act of your will you can change your thinking. Begin today - decide to focus on the good, true, pure, lovely things, the things of good report. If you have 'seen' the holes and messes for a long time it means that you will have to be more determined to look past them until you find the good to focus on. --- I can enter a home and see cobwebs, dust, dirty floors - or I can see a comfortable chair, enjoy a good cup of coffee, see a smile that welcomes me - I can report my visit in terms of the good experiences or the imperfection --- the choice is mine! What would you see? Perhaps what you would focus on is an indication of what you look at when you look at yourself. What we focus on inside ourselves clouds or clears our vision of what is around us. Begin to focus on what is lovely (worthy of love) within yourself. If Jesus gave Himself so that you could be saved - you must certainly be lovable! Allow yourself to see through His eyes. Allow yourself to see a child who is precious and dearly loved. We must choose to meditate on the Word of God and allow it to do a work in our hearts. We can try with all our human might to fight the negative influences in our lives - but it will be a stressful, pressure-filled strife-filled battle everyday. As we exchange the old thoughts and meditations for the Truth of God's Word we will change - He has promised it! His Word does not (never) return unto Him void!!!! It WILL accomplish what He intended it to do! We have to plant it in our hearts daily - tend it - add to it with prayer and faith (which will increase as we continue to plant!). Soon we will see the harvest of blessings that His Word promised. Romans 12:2 Isaiah 55:11 |
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