In Touch 01-04-05
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- 2005 Jan 04
In Touch Daily Devotional
by Dr. Charles Stanley
January 4, 2005
Evidence Against a Proud Heart
Matthew 23:1-12
Pride is deceptive. The proud person is often the last to know the contents of his or her own heart. Our self-importance makes us desire to be number one. Instead of working toward our personal best, which is required by God, we are determined to be better than anyone else.
To get to that top position, we will constantly point to ourselves as the best and look for praise and compliments from others. Often we choose to be around people who are important and well liked, but we tend to ignore those who are less fortunate. This is the opposite of how Jesus treated people. He gave the adulterous woman compassion but referred to the Pharisees as whitewashed coffins.
Of course, while we are chasing after prominence externally, our spirit turns rebellious internally. We refuse to obey God because we believe we know better than He does.
To quell our rebellious spirit and bring our pride under God's control, we must first recognize specific parts of our life that are affected. When we confess those areas, we take the first step toward submission by turning our focus back onto God. We must continuously be on the alert for a prideful attitude. But we can stamp it out by remembering what God has done in our life and what He saved us from.
Pride often causes us to compare ourselves with others. We can all find someone whom we can out-perform, out-dress, or outwit, but the one person with whom we should compare ourselves is Jesus Christ - and we will find ourselves lacking every time.
On Jan. 2, 2005, Dr. Stanley begins a ten-week series entitled "Landmines in the Pathway of the Believer" that identifies and helps you disarm the spiritual landmines in your life. For more information, including television listings and airtimes, visit www.landminesofthebeliever.com.
For more about this topic and many more, be sure to visit the "Exploring the Bible" section of intouch.org. http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/exploring/index_76118.html
