Preventing Pride

“Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.  Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.” Psalm 2:10-11

I once heard a true story about a pastor concerned with the potential to become prideful. To keep himself in check, he requested a certain task to be reserved for him alone at church: cleaning the men’s bathroom.

The years passed, and he wrote books and spoke around the world; yet every week he found the cleaner and the toilet brush where he’d left them.

This man of God was not a king.  But, he was admired, respected, and exalted by thousands of Christians around the world.

But what was his focus?  Whom he was serving: Jesus. Not who was serving: himself. He didn’t consider himself above any menial task when his career first began.  And even after notable success, his self-appraisal did not change.  He didn’t consider himself above any work, even one parishioners would gladly delegate from their beloved pastor.

The book deals and speaking engagements didn’t cloud his thoughts or actions with pride.  Instead, he took intentional steps to ascertain pride could not contaminate his heart.

Reflections:

1) Do I consider myself ‘above’ certain tasks?

2) What is an action I can take today to proactively keep pride at bay?

Thanks for reading!  Please return by Thursday, July 11, for the next post.