Crushing Pride: Coming Clean

“By insolence (pride) comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.” Proverbs 13:10

When was the last time you were in a “good” verbal fight? I mean really…

All of us from time to time have been in a war of words over something that really didn’t matter in the end. If you are married or ever been married, I’m sure you can remember some knock-down-drag out arguments that left you up late, emotionally drained, tired, hurt, frustrated, lonely, misunderstood, and even possibly bitter. And I’m sure you wondered to yourself, “How did we get here and end up in this mess?”

Guess what is interwoven into most of our arguments? That’s right – pride. Whenever there’s a fight, argument and disagreement, pride is somewhere lurking around desiring to be center stage. And I believe that you know what I’m talking about. Some of us have experienced this with supervisors, colleagues, wives, children, relatives, baby-mamas, managers, neighbors and even close friends. Pride creates tension and we’ve all felt its affects.

Think about your worst argument for a second. What would have happened in the midst of that verbal assault if you would have taken your eyes off of the other person and confessed and repented of your own pride getting the best of you? You are probably saying to yourself, “Well if she didn’t do this…” or “If he didn’t do that…”

You see, we all struggle with taking personal ownership for our own pride. Let’s face it men, we won’t to always win! We want to be right! We want everyone else to be wrong! We won’t our way to be the right way! We want everyone to listen to us! We want everyone else to “bow down” to our point in the matter! The other persons wrong always captivates our attention more than our own wrongs (Matthew 7:1-5).

Here’s some freeing news - arguments are a normal part of every human relationship but strife (quarrels) comes when we let pride go unchecked, unaddressed and un-confessed. However, something amazing happens when we come clean with our pride. It’s as if our ears become unclogged. For example, whenever I lock horns with someone in an argument, as soon as I acknowledge my sin and wrongdoing, the battle seems to die down instantly. Why? Strife simmers down when we allow the truth of our error to take our eyes off the other person. When we choose to turn the lights on our own pride, choose not to defend ourselves, own our own hang-ups and issues, acknowledging our own wrongdoings, it allows for progression towards health in our relationships.

So the next time you get fired up at someone, put your own pride in check and watch God simmer down the fire. Let’s work on coming clean with our own pride this week as we interact and relate with those around us. Praying for you!