Pride

PRIDE

Part four of seven devotions in The World of Jealousy series

1 Corinthians 13:4

“Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

Ten year olds Wally and Chester arrived same time at the basketball court next to the public swimming pool. “Hi Wally,” Chester said. “Are we still good, after yesterday?” (See Spiritual Show & Tell devotion).

Wally replied, “Sure. Sorry that I acted like a jerk yesterday. Thanks for showing up to help me lose weight. ... You know, I never miss a layup.”

Chester laughed. “It’s hard to miss a layup, Wally. Every time you hit that square behind the hoop on the backboard, the ball is supposed to drop through the basket. Layups are practically a sure two points.”
“Yeah,” Wally admitted. “But watch the sweet rotation the ball has as it leaves my hands.”

Chester challenged Wally’s next shot. He blocked the ball, whacking it away. “I didn’t see your sweet rotation that time, Wally!” Chester teased. The boys played a rugged game of one-on-one for over an hour.

Dripping wet from the workout, they resisted jumping into the swimming pool before showering off their sweat in the locker room. Did you catch Wally’s insisting how good a basketball player he is? Chester wouldn’t give Wally the satisfaction of congratulating his perfect layup record; he even blocked his next shot instead of admiring Wally’s sweet ball rotation.

There was a fisherman whose favorite job was to catch crabs. He learned that he never needed a top for his crab basket. Whenever one of the crabs starts to climb up the sides of the basket, the others pull it back down. Now that’s jealousy! Jealous people tries tearing others down, so to make themselves look better.

Chester isn’t jealous of Wally. Wally could be a little jealous of Chester; he tries to impress Chester, nevertheless. Wally wanted to show that he’s not just overweight, he also has skills. It’s human nature to want to impress others—especially when there’s an obvious problem.

Wanting to impress another comes from one’s pride. Pride is a devious emotion. While every person needs self-esteem to live confidently, just being made in God’s image gives people the right to want respect. Romans 12:3 warns: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” Be aware of false pride.

Take Home Nugget

Once, a proud woodpecker tapped away on a dead tree. When a storm came up, he continued pecking through rain and thunder. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the tree, splintering it into a million pieces. The woodpecker screeched to his feathered friends, “Look at what I did!” Pride is self-worship.

“We grow small trying to be great.” Eli Stanley Jones

J.D. Griffith

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