Also, cool fact, you can never seem to pee often enough before having to get up and talk in front of a bunch of people.
So I was wondering what I'd teach on. The class is going through Ezekiel and oh man, I figured out just how far out of my comfort zone I was about the time I got to the four faces on the giant six winged angels that flew around with wheels inside wheels following them. I mean Revelations was a piece of cake compared to figuring out this stuff! So with all the talk about Gog and invading kingdoms and murder and heavenly beings flying around I decided to talk about the issue of pride.
So before you go thinking that I crumpled, first hear the reasoning behind why I crumpled. The majority of our kids are church kids which means they've heard the stories, know the words and enough basic theology to answer questions without looking like a bench warmer - a.k.a me. But there's no fire there. In Romans the Jews had zeal but no knowledge. Today we have knowledge but no zeal! And the knowledge we have is so wet it's break apart to the touch. So I took a look back and realized, why get into theology, hermeneutics, eschatology, evangelism or apologetics when they don't even know the basics? So I'm going back to the basics, taking the essentials of what our faith is based on and trying to make it connect. Two weeks ago (My first lesson) was on self control (Psalms 25:28 being the key verse) and tomorrow I'm going into pride. Why? Well I teach the highschool guys, no girls, and I think an issue we really struggle with is pride, though we may not know it. So here's what I learned.
1) First you have to understand what pride is. I looked up a bunch of definitions and essays and essentially smashed it down to a few word: It's self worship (Obadiah 1:3). I'll get into why that's wrong in a second, but this is just talking about what pride is so I'll stick to that.
Another thing about pride is that it's a 2 part emotion, built of the thought (internal) (Mark 7:20-22) as well as the reaction to the thought (external output). By that I mean you have the, 'Oh I wonder...' thought running through your mind, which is then followed by the external output, like puffing up your chest as that girl walks by or lashing out in an argument even when you know you're wrong. That's pride.
2) You have to realize that you can't do anything about that first aspect, or that thought and you've got to realize, that thought isn't a sin! Now before you go shutting the browser on me, hear me out. A thought is instantaneous, a burst of electricity (something that moves at the speed of light) through neurons in our brains. We can't control that. It's going to happen. From the most holy-ish paster to the lowest criminal, we're going to have those thoughts. Jesus himself was tempted in Matthew 4. Temptation is a thought to do something, but Christ was without sin, and sense he was tempted and temptation isn't a sin, heck that initial thought isn't a sin!
Now do realize that what you do after that initial thought is where sin begins. Either we choose to think on something different, pray to God that he'll drive the thought from our mind, or we sit and mull over the thought as we twist it to make it, allowable.
Honestly that was a breath of fresh air to me! I'd always had trouble trying not to have these thoughts and I thought it was sin and I somehow needed to get it to just stop! Nope. It's going to happen. I can't stop it. Now, blogger people, listen to me, those thoughts still aren't the best to have but wanna know the cool thing? Even though we can't change them, Christ can. Our thoughts reflect the father we serve, either above or below (2 Cor. 2:13) (Matt. 6:24). Good indication on what we're doing with our life, no?
3) Now how do you spot when you're being prideful? Where does the balance tip from self image or doing a task to taking pride in something? Sometimes it's pretty simple and you know it. Flexing your muscles or driving fast or revving your engine at the red light. Like I said, obvious pride signs. But what about when it comes to the the type of shirt you pick out? Doing your hair? Reading a passage of scripture in class or answering the question the teacher poses. Sometimes it even comes down, at least for me, closing my eyes while I pray for my food, or how long I take to pray or closing my eyes during worship.
So I had to struggle to find the balance. I could go to church with clothes on duh, but I like to dress fairly nice. Is that pride? Is it prideful to buy those new clothes for Sunday service? Is it prideful to answer the question? It'll be drawing peoples attention to you and how smart/hot you are. There was a lot of frustration here for me but one day I was driving and like a whack-a-mole it hit me. Follow your 3 eyes. For those of you who are cyclopses this might seem normal but to everyone else let me explain.
The three eyes idea is pretty simple. We have two eyes in our head and one in our mind. Wondering if it's pride that's starting to creep in? Take notice of where your three eyes are looking.
While you're praying: Are you focusing on God or that girl in the corner pew, three rows back who you saw glancing at you six months ago so obviously, she's been checking you out ever since. And heck, she needs to know how holy you are.
To answer that question: For edification of the class, pointing out a thread that you've studied on and think might help other people or because everyone else has been answering so you need to keep your game up.
How you dress: Fine line between self image and pride. Personally I think having a good self image is a good thing to have but if you disagree, post a comment and I'll share what I believe in another blog. We represent our church. To dress with class is to show people that you're not some whacko. The best witness, I believe, is in shape, dressed fashionable, clean cut, mannered, knows some solid theology and humble! People will listen to someone they respect, not the neighbor hood hobo. Now not saying it's a bad thing to be different, I'm just saying the closer to normal you can be the more people will listen to you. Also self image is essential when sharing your faith. If you're confident in yourself then you'll have some courage to share with somebody, and they'll have more of a chance to listen to you. It's all about presentation. The good news of Christ needs everything it can possibly get to help with bringing people to him. Now that doesn't mean you should go to night clubs or start cussing or wearing skimpy clothes, but if it's cool with God then it's cool to do. So hair/clothes/shoes/look is fine. It really kind of helps when you approach people about Christ. We're Christ's emissaries. That's my opinion at least.
There are more thingies but I think you get the picture. Are your eyes on God or are they on man?
Another tip that I think defines point three (spotting pride) really well is by C.S Lewis in Mere Christianity
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”
Pride is fueled by competition. How? Self worship. That means we're something worth worshiping and the only reason we have worship is because something is better and worth the praise. But better than what? All the underlings! But what happens when some peon passes us up? Pride. Are you competing with someone else? Is it a competition? Are you doing what you're doing so you can be above, or looked at as above and lofty? Ahh, dragged that Obadiah reference back in. If so you should take another look at whatever it is you're doing.
I'm sure there are more ways to depth charging (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_charge) Pride but these were the only two I could come up with. Post if you've got any more ideas! I love being able to add! I sure as heck have room!
4) When we've figured out where pride is seeping/raging through it's our job to combat it. But how? Avoid situations where it's going to happen. That person who just blows your top in an argument who will tip you over the edge to argue for the sake of pride (Proverbs 13:10), that hall where you know she's going to be, really anyplace it could get sketchy. Now obviously you can't go live in a bubble. Things are going to happen but we can lessen the chance. But when it does happen the best weapon we have is prayer and scripture and prayer. As soon as it starts to come into your mind (initial thought) cry out to God (seriously, cry out in your mind) for him to take it from you and start quoting John 3:16 or singing the lyrics of a hymn. Anything to get your mind off of it. Pray that God will humble you. Showing you how you're nothing! How can we be prideful about something we don't own? Something that can be taken in an instant (Luke 14:11). The Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21).
Lastly, when it comes to stopping pride JUST DO IT! So much easier said than done but I believe it's what we done in the moments of weakness, when we're that much closer to bending the knee in defeat, that really matter. It's easy to be in love with God when everything is going swell, but what about when the world is crumbling around you? That's when it matters. Buck up, we're in this together. You can tell me about it in Heaven. I'll invite you over to my mansion for a cup of coffee.
5) Pride can be a good thing! Taking pride in a job is fine as long as you remember that God gave you the talent to do it. Also flaunting it is a big no, no. We're allowed to boast in Christ, (2 Cor. 10:17) and nothing more. Now you can think, 'Wow, I did a good job picking up that poop.' but that should be followed up with, 'and thanks, God, for the shovel, the arms to do it, and dogs to clean up after!'
I already see it going through your mind. He's got to be joking. (2 Cor. 10: 3-6 (Especially verse 5)). Not joking. Take every thought captive with God! It's hard but you'll see the change. It's worth it, believe a struggling pride addict.
But when I say it's a good thing here's the main reason why - James 1:2. It brings us closer to God when we turn to Him to give thanks. We thank Him for the skill to do something and check it out, we're communicating with God! That's beauty. Now that's something we share between us and God. You don't go to someone saying, 'Look at what God gave me the awesome skill to accomplish.' That's competition/pride. We share pride in something with God and ourselves (Also no comparing what we've done and thinking that puts us above someone else (Remember Job 1:21? Yeah...)) and that's about it. That's humility, the antonym of pride. That's what we're striving for.
6) Lastly, why the heck change? Simple: James 4:6, Isaiah 2:11. God WILL oppose you. He will bring you to your knees. Blogger people, he will put your sorry butt back in check. Pride tears us from Christ. It's saying we know better than God. It's worshiping ourself. Every piece of communication with Christ is cut off when pride comes into the picture and not only does it break us off from God but, using the same logic, from relationships with people! No one likes a proud man, believe me. How can a woman love a man who won't submit (Eph. 5:25 (then read Phil 2:8)) to her? Yeah, it applies with parents, friends and anyone who has a mind to think with. We all want people to be humble with us (Matt. 7:12).
If you're still alive and God hasn't returned I congratulate you for reading through. I wouldn't be able to. But anyhow, that's about it. I know I left stuff out or looked things over or just haven't thought of certain things but hey, if you find a fault or something extra you thought up, post a comment. Only a fool rebukes knowledge. That's what learning is all about, learning!
PKL
God Bless
No comments:
Post a Comment