Pride is a funny thing

Psalm 10:4 tells us: 

"In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

The psalmist recognized this shortcoming in men thousands of years ago. It hasn’t gotten any better since

Women joke that men will drive around lost for an hour rather than stop and ask directions. We’re that way in the rest of our life as well. God, the source of all wisdom, is eager to give us the direction we need, yet we’ll take one dead end after another rather than ask him for help. Jesus was different from us. He constantly sought his Father’s leading. His character was flawless, free from the pride we display. Instead of trying to make it on his own, he depended heavily on the Father and the Holy Spirit.

 If our pride weren’t bad enough, we men are also slow learners. We refuse God’s help, mess things up, then a year or five years or ten years later we do the same thing. It’s hard for us to overcome our need for independence. 

How to Break the Cycle

 

How do we break this cycle of pride? How do we get into the habit of asking God for help, not just in big things but every single day? 

First, we remember what Christ has already done for us. He saved us from our sins, something we could never do on our own. He became the pure, spotless sacrifice we could never be, the only offering that would satisfy God’s perfect justice. His willingness to die in our place proves his immense love. That kind of love will deny us no good thing. 

Second, we reflect on our need for help. Every Christian man has enough failures in his past to remind him that going it alone simply hasn’t worked. We shouldn’t be embarrassed by our failures; we should be embarrassed because we were too arrogant to accept God’s help. But it’s never too late to remedy that. 

Third, we should learn from other Christian men who have humbled themselves and daily rely on God for help. We can see the victories in their lives. We can marvel at their maturity, their calmness, their faith in a trustworthy God. Those same admirable qualities can become ours, too. 

There’s hope for every one of us. We can live the life we’ve always dreamed of. Pride is a sin we can overcome, and we start by asking God for help.

Have you ever thought you were losing the race?

In today fast pace world, I sometime feel I can not keep up and thus resort to removing myself from the race. The world would have me to lace up my sneakers and run with all out speed to keep up. And yet, it feels like I am not getting anywhere fast despite the speed. 

Have you been there, does it seem hopeless and all for not. Do you drop out of life because you can not keep up with its demands? Do you resort to avenue of destruction in order to feel good about failing as the world would see it?. Avenue such as drugs, alcohol, isolation, sexual addictions to name a few. There are many other trails we may find ourselves on if we are not careful to pay attention to our basic needs just to make it for today.

Do you live in the past or are you living in the future and forget getting about today. That is what the world wants you to do. Living your life in the past will lead to depression and addictions because you can not change the past, future tripping will causes you great  fears and useless worrying to the point you will drive yourself insane. 

 Have you seen those bumper stickers on the back of automobiles stating "Live one Day at a Time". Six small words with a powerful meaning. In short it states Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not promise, so Live one Day at a Time. And we can not live one day at a time if we are trying to keep up with the world and all its demands. 

 Matthew 6:34 - Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Knowing about this bible verse teaches us some practical advice on how we should live our lives. It’s like living one day at a time. solve the problems as it comes along. It simply means do not problem a problem when its not yet a problem. Does it sound redundancy? Oh I guess so. But the way we handle things is crucial on how we will be able to enjoy life. Having this kind of attitude will keep us from worrying too much about things to happened, imaginary problems, and being anxious.

Its amazing how the bible not only gives us rules of the do's and dont's in life. But also teaches us on how best we can live our lives. That is living one day at a time...