Pride

(Pride)..."the love of one's own self excellence." ~ St. Augustine

I am the guy you don't want to be sitting next to when I am in the stands rooting for one of my children.  The exuberance overflows and I am one proud papa.  Pride has it's place.  We can be proud of our men and women who sacrifice their own lives so that we can enjoy our freedom.  It's when we get carried away with our own self that pride can get us into trouble.

Lucifer's fall comes from admiring His own light.  He falsely believed that He was responsible for being the brightest light in the Heavens.  When life is going well and I feel like I am on top of the world, it is easy to fall into the trap of loving my own self excellence.  The best way to avoid this is to give the credit to the Creator every time I receive a compliment that makes my head swell.

This morning, while listening to an interview George W. Bush gave on KLove radio regarding his new book, "A Charge Kept," he spoke of the influence Billy Graham had on his life. Power can lead to a false sense of pride in one's self image.  George W. Bush remained humble, always asking for prayers that he would make the right decisions for our country.  When he was asked which philosopher had the greatest influence on his life, he replied, "Christ, because He changed my heart."

Learn to develop a heart of humility rather than of pride.  Your light will shine for all of eternity as long as you remember it's source.