#3 - Pride
(Yes, I know that I wrote about pride a couple of days ago…but I felt like it deserved a lot more attention because of the danger that it really does present.)
Pride is something that God hates…and yet as leaders we are all SO IN DANGER of being lured in by it’s grasp. (James 4:6, I Peter 5:5, Proverbs 8:13, Isaiah 13:11, Daniel 4:37)
Here’s the tricky thing…when someone says, “You are not humble” and you respond by saying, “yes I am,” you lose! (I dealt with that in this article I wrote several months ago!)
Pride is tricky…it tells us the game is different for us, that we do not need to be serious about any sort of integrity because, after all, this ministry would not survive without us!
Pride tells us that we are always right and “they” are always wrong…and so we must attack and tear apart because if everyone were more like us then the world would be a perfect place.
It tells us to treat the staff as servants and not friends because, after all, all of them exist to help me build my Kingdom…not serve with one another to build His.
It tells us that we should be more concerned with the national audience and thus preach and lead for them instead of THE CHURCH that God has given us direct stewardship over…thus the obsession becomes being “discovered” by the world and not being “developed” by Jesus.
It tells us that more and more pictures of us all over the church and the website is a good thing because, after all, it is important that everyone understand who we are.
It tells us that speaking truth isn’t popular; therefore, it is extremely important to keep certain people in the church happy—thus causing us to “respect” them so much that we actually disrespect Jesus and His call on our lives. (Jeremiah 1:17)
It tells us that we have arrived, that we are above certain people, and that if our ministry is larger than theirs then we can’t learn anything from them.
It tells us that we are actually the smartest person in our church/organization…thus causing us to walk into meetings with our minds made up, totally neglecting the fact that God has surrounded us with collective wisdom that far outweighs our gifting and experiences.
It tells us to listen to EVERYONE…and to let the opinion of those who know us the least shape us the most because, after all, we just want people to be happy.
It tells us to not submit to any type of authority whatsoever because we know better than “them!”
It tells us that the reason we are experiencing success in ministry is because WE are THAT good…not because HE IS THAT GOOD!!!
It tells us that we can’t admit that something is wrong because it will make us look bad…and that can’t happen because our image is way more important than the church!
It tells us that God actually owes us blessings and favor.
It tells us that the reason God is blessing us more than others is because we are more godly than they are.
It tells us that we are experts and deserve to be treated as such.
Pride is a LIAR…it is DECEPTIVE…and every leader has been bitten by it MULTIPLE times.
II Corinthians 4:1 has been HUGE for me in my battle with pride…it is through HIS mercy that I have this ministry…
- His mercy pursued me when I ran from Him.
- His mercy rescued me!
- His mercy called me!
- His mercy gifted me!
- His mercy blessed me!
- His mercy surrounded me with people smarter and godlier than me!
- His mercy has opened doors for me!
- His mercy is THE REASON that I have ANYTHING good in my life.
Pride is lethal…we can’t allow it to take us captive and drag us down…there is just too much at stake.