eye opener

do you ever have one of those moments where your eyes are opened up so wide that you just want to shut them and not be blinded by the bright light we call "ignorance of self?" well that happened to me today. a dear friend of mine help show me (in a very sincere and unassuming way) that i struggle with a sin that i didn't even know i struggled with.

pride. not like white pride or black pride or proud to be an american sort of pride. but the that's-great-sorry-to-hear-you-have-issues-but-let-me-tell-you-what's-going-on-in-my-life sort of pride. pride, in biblical terms, is when glory has been robbed from God and selfishly hoarded by ourselves! yeah, ouch!

let's think about this, perhaps you've said these phrases a few times:
* "i'm not as bad as somebody else"
* "i do more than somebody else"
* "i've been through more than somebody else"
* "i go to church/help at church a lot"
* "i volunteer"
* "i read my bible everyday"
* "i'm not as good as somebody else"
* "my life isn't worth living"
* "my problems are so big that nobody can help me"
* and the list can go on and on!

sure, some of these are not prideful things. but in context, are we glorifying God or are we looking for recognition from others. do we go to church for God? or because that's what we do as christians? do we volunteer to glorify God? or do we do it to improve a resume? or to feel good about ourselves?

the point is, whether in depressive stages of our lives or happy times, are we focused on what we are doing or what God is doing?