Wednesday

Pride --- It's not limited to men





"You have such well-behaved children."

"Your house is absolutely beautiful."





"I don't know of anyone who's worked harder on this project than you."

"When you teach/pray/instruct/write I get so much out of it."











Scripture encourages us to affirm, exhort, and edify others with our words.

But what happens when we're on the receiving end of thanks, affirmation, and praise?

We know how to be good losers, but do we know how to be good winners?


In the Kingdom, a bad winner is even more dangerous than a bad loser.

 King Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest kings of Babylon, yet despite God's warning, he persisted in pride and self-exaltation.

 "As the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, 'Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?'" he said in Daniel 4:29-30.

Instead of recognizing that everything he had and all he had accomplished was because of God's blessing, he took all the credit.


He stole God's glory.
 
 And "the words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, 'This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes,'" God said to him. (Daniel 4:31-32).
 

We shake our heads at the presumption of Nebuchadnezzar, but how many times are we, too, guilty of pride? How often do we steal God's glory? When someone praises us, are we quick to acknowledge it (graciously, of course), and keep it for ourselves, or do we direct the praise back to the One who makes every accomplishment possible?

"What do you have that you did not receive?" Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 4:7. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father . . . " (James 1:17).


God has given every talent, ability, and skill we possess. He gives us the strength in our bodies, breath in our lungs, and brains in our skulls. He gives us relationships, jobs, position, and prosperity. 

We give nothing to the world but that which was given to us. Like the orphaned child begging on the street is rescued and adopted as a son, so we have been given a place and a purpose in God's kingdom.

After seven years of living like an animal, King Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses. "I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:34).

Nebuchadnezzar got it, though the realization came at great cost. 

May we learn from his example to direct all glory, honor, and praise to the God who makes all things possible. 

May we never steal God's glory.

"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Rev. 7:12).

























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20 comments:

  1. Thanks for the reminder, Lori!
    Yes, absolutely EVERYTHING we have is from God!
    Well done!

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  2. I completely agree with you, Lori. Pride is definitely not limited to only men. Although I wish it was sometimes! :) Thanks for this gentle reminder that God is the One who should receive all the credit for anything good that we do ... including the blogging we do.

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  3. Amen! Pride is the cause of so many problems in our lives/world. I know it is in my life. Thanks for this reminder, friend.

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  4. Powerful words - we must do all things for Him - to do any less is to steal from the one who loves us dearly. Thank you for your beautiful reminder!

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  5. Don't we all need this reminder often! My pride is my greatest enemy. Thanks for sharing these thoughts.

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  6. Pride is puffed up and does not give Glory to God, but we can be pleased at a job well done and thank God for the opportunity.

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  7. Popping by from Hear It On Sunday - what a great post. It is so easy to let all that praise puff us up. And often we are quick to believe our own good press. :) I've been guilty of this, too. Thank you for this great post and reminder that we are what we are only by the blood and grace of Jesus Christ and the Father who has given us these gifts. Blessings from Croatia: A Little R & R: www.littlerandr.org

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  8. As always, great thoughts, Lori. All the glory to Him... but we have to really watch ourselves! Thanks for the reminder + for linking up at our Heart+Home community :)
    blessings,
    lauren

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  9. HI! So glad you are at SDG this week. Oh, pride and I go back a long way, but He has done a good work in me -- ferreting out that which doesn't belong so that my life can be about Him and not me!

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  10. Thank you for this critical reminder! Found you at mercyInk. I am now following and would love for you to visit and follow me at Blessings Beyond the Barnyard.
    http://keosmith7.blogspot.com/2012/10/seasons-of-change.html
    Have a blessed day :O)
    karmen

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  11. Yep, I'm pretty familiar with this one! I've heard this saying "Lord, I pray I will not let complements go to my head and criticism go to my heart", so true. We all want to feel good about things we do and be acknowledged for it, but pride is sneeky and takes root before we know it. Enjoyed your post!

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  12. You visited my blog earlier today. Thank you for visiting and commenting! I love comments and followers.

    Anyway... I totally understand the pride thing. Sometimes I get a bit of pride when people tell me how well my children are behaving. I get that proud momma moment. However, those aren't my kids! Those of my gifts from God that He allowed me to raise. (small preview of my next blog post.)

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  13. Lori, this is excellent! Great use of Scripture to make a point that none of us can hear enough times! Pride is such a toxic thing, yet it is a sin struggle that all of us can so easily fall into. Thanks for speaking truth!

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  14. This is a wonderful reminder! God is due all the glory for all we have and all we do! Thank you for sharing! We're neighbors today at New Life Steward ;) Blessings! simplyhelpinghim.com

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  15. Anonymous7:05 PM

    Thanks for sharing such a great reminder with us. I try hard not to let my pride get in the way, but it's not always easy. I have to keep working at it.


    ~ Visiting from EOA link-up ~

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  16. Always good to be on guard against pride and to remember that everything good comes from His hand. So glad I stopped by today. God bless you.

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  17. My husband is a musician and when he was a teenager and his momma thought he was starting to be prideful she say, "Keep your talent surrendered." This is an excellent warning to all of us.

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  18. So true! Thank you for the reminder.

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  19. Lori...Pride is so easy to romance the heart. You're right in that we must be aware and not let it take away the glory due the Lord. Thank you for the sweet reminder and for sharing at WJIM this week. Blessings.

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  20. Anonymous8:24 PM

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    ReplyDelete

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