Pride

Proverb 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverb 13:10 Pride only  breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
Proverb 29:23  A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

Pride is a problem with which I struggle.  I don't like to be wrong especially when I have studied and prepared for something.  I am sure that I am not the only one like this.  We need to learn to listen to other's suggestions and take them into consideration.  Often we can learn so much from others when we really stop and listen rather than waiting impatiently for them to pause so we can insert our opinions again. Over confidence is a kind of pride if we are not open to other ideas.  Pride can cause us to engage in unnecessary quarrels with someone who disagrees with our plans. Friendships can be hurt because when we quarrel with a friend, they can feel undervalued.  To honor others and show that we respect what they think, we need to give them a chance to be correct and creative. We gain wisdom when we follow God's design for us.  He wants us to obey His  commands and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Proverbs of the Bible teach us basic decent values.  Our friends can teach us things, and much more importantly, God's Word will teach us all we need to know about actions and relationships. The most important relationship we can have is with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Women who are overly concerned about their appearances demonstrate pride.  We want to look not only our best but better than others in the room.  We change our hair, makeup, and clothes because we never seem to be satisfied with ourselves. I probably have twelve tubes of face cream left in my bathroom cabinet because they never seemed to work well enough for me. The cabinets are packed with old hair sprays, mousse, eye shadow etc. I think that it is fine to want to look our best, but we just need to allow our Christian character to be the beauty that stands out the most for us. People will remember the good things that we did or said rather than what we wore or how we looked at some party.

Why is humility so important to God?  That is the greatest character trait of Jesus Christ. He was placed  in a lowly manger at His birth.  The King of Kings began life in the most humble of circumstances.  He would become like the beasts of burden that surrounded Him.  He took on the burdens and sorrows of that day, and He still carries us today when we are in pain.    He humbled Himself and did what His Father asked of Him.  Before the crucifixion,  He could have squashed the Roman soldiers who hurt Him and made fun of Him, but He didn't. He died for us so our sins would be covered with His blood and so we could be with Him through eternity.  While on the cross He even asked God to forgive all those who took part in crucifying Him.  Jesus' way is the opposite of pride; therefore, we know without a doubt that we need to change our ways if we want to emulate Him.