The cycle of pride throughout the scriptures are so great and all consuming, that we cannot ignore the fact that this is something that we should fear. Pride destroys the righteous God-fearing people little by little, one at a time. My mom use to tell us that “as soon as you think you are humble, you are not.” This is because humility is a characteristic of Christ, it’s a teachable quality, submissive to the father like little children. Pride is boastful, seeking only his own. As we think about the four chapters that are part of this week’s Come, Follow Me program, they are four testimonies from four different apostles of the same event. Each one had enough personal differences that it helps us paint a clear picture of what happened. I can’t read this chapter without crying for it is truly terrible that the Jews could get to a point in their pride that they crucified their King, Christ himself. Before we point fingers too severely at the Jews, let us look at our own lives and decide this week to be aware of pride in our own lives!
Mathew 27:18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
So many passages stood out to me, but this one hit me hard. They crucified Christ because they were envious of him. They don’t like the attention that he took away from their prominent position as religious leaders. This pride blinded them so that they were not able to see the miracles for what they were, they weren’t able to hear the parables and understand them, and they weren’t able to feel with a soft heart the gentle prompting of the spirit that this was indeed Christ, the King, whom they had been waiting for.
When we look at it this way we can clearly say, that each of us must be cautious to not allow pride to take over, to dull our senses, and harden our hearts.
We can test ourselves by paying attention to our feelings when the prophet or apostles speak. Are we receptive to the direction they are giving us? Remember, they are the mouthpiece for Christ on earth. It is as if Christ himself is talking when they talk. Do we scoff at certain things? Do we listen and then think that we know better? Do we pray for our own confirmation of what is being taught? Are we teachable?
-Sherri Jorgensen
Recent Comments