Pride

Anna's question regarding the enemy we struggle with most, has been soul-searching and thought provoking for me! My struggle has been with Fear as well as Pride. I wrote about Fear in a previous post, so now I will deal with Pride. I think one of the reasons I haven't been able to write about it up to this point, is because I am still in combat. Here is a poem written by Beth Moore that has challenged and convicted me beyond words. I believe God gave it to me to help me defeat this enemy. Not to say that it won't show up, even on the mountains of my experience, but like Much-Afraid, I am learning that it isn't in my power to defeat (that's a characteristic of the enemy itself), but learning to recognize Pride, as the "cheater" he is, and calling out to the Shepherd to deliver whenever Pride so much as peaks his head from out of nowhere. Here is the poem...

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
I cheat you of your God-given destiny...becuase you demand your own way.
I cheat you of contentment...because you "deserve" better than this."
I cheat you of healing...because you already know it all.
I cheat you of healing...because you're too full of me to forgive.
I cheat you of holiness...because you refuse to admit when you are wrong.
I cheat you of vision...because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.
I cheat you of genuine friendship...because nobody's going to know the real you.
I cheat you of love...because real romance demands sacrifice.
I cheat you of greatness in heaven...because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.
I cheat you of God's glory...because I convince you to seek your own.
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you.
God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...if you stick with me, you'll never know.

"Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

Sarah Beth