Ugly Pride

I went to a tech training session this week with an all male classroom. It is sad to see how the world gains status and position. If my classmates understood the lesson, they hurried through it, sat back, and literally looked smug. The smug look says, "My speed and knowledge proved that I'm better than you." No one asks questions for fear that they might look like they don't know it all.

I heard a program on Catholic radio today. The talk show shrink was commenting on how girls and boys are wired differently. Girls like to be involved in activities that include socializing. Boys prefer agressive competitive games and like to do things together. I believe there is validity to his point, however; the girls socializing becomes sin when gossip and catty games that exclude others run rampant. The boys aggressiveness becomes sin when the strong survive and the week die, wolf pack mentality rules.

I listened on the way in to work to another christian radio station. The guest speaker's topic was pride and how it affects you. Pride causes depression because, you are in your own little universe and the whole world is all about you. When something doesn't go your way you are depressed. Prideful people are not good listeners because they want to talk only about themselves. Pride doesn't think it is wrong. The speaker related a story of a teacher who told a student that he spelled a word wrong. She had the student look up in a dictionary the mis-spelled word. When the dictionary proved otherwise; this student declared, "The dictionary is wrong."
All I can say is WOW. It seems the student is so full of SELF-esteem that there is no way he could have made a mistake. Or so full of pride that he couldn't admit the mistake.

SELF-esteem, SELFish ambition, and pride are the same animal...untamed, unbridled irreponsibility that will step on the head of the innocent to gain a few crumbs and then justify it's actions by saying, "I have to survive, don't I?" This beast is blind as a bat to the truth with a heart void of real love.

The bible says to die to SELF and to consider others before myself. This is in complete opposition to the world's way of doing things. But imagine, if there was heaven on earth and we treated one another as the golden rule states, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It would truly be heaven on earth.

Lord, Help me to remember that I am your servant here, sent to do that which you have prepared ahead of time for me to do. May the chains of selfish ambition and vain conceit fall from my heart. Let me see as you see and not be blind to truth nor love.