For the record, I believe there is a good kind of pride and a bad kind of pride. Many Christians, after reading what some of the verses from the Bible has to say about this toxic quality, try to remove all sense of pride from them and their lives. As a result, they end up reducing a lot of their own natural joy in the Lord.
Webster’s Dictionary, and some of the other different Bible Dictionaries describe this good kind of pride as follows:
- Proper respect for one-self, self-respect
- A reasonable or justifiable self-respect
- Sense of one’s own dignity and self-worth
- Delight or satisfaction in one’s own or another’s achievements
If your child comes home and tells you that he has just received straight A’s on his report card, your first natural and instinctive response will be to want to tell them “how proud” you are of them and what they have just accomplished. If your husband comes home and tells you he has just received a nice promotion and pay raise at work for the good job he has been doing – again, your first natural response will be to want to tell him how proud you are of him and his efforts to try and make a better life for your and your family.
This is the good kind of pride. There is nothing wrong in having this good kind of pride for what your children may be able to accomplish, and for what you may accomplish in your own work for the Lord in this lifetime. I believe that God Himself wants us to have this good kind of pride for the blessings and opportunities He may bring our way in this life.
If God has just blessed you with a nice new house, there is nothing wrong in being proud of that house and wanting to take good care of it. If God has blessed you with a wonderful marriage with a beautiful mate and beautiful children, there is nothing wrong in taking pride in all of them and what they may accomplish for the Lord in this life.
continuation.....
No comments:
Post a Comment
,