“For me, I’m a creative genius. There’s no other way to word it.” This is a real quote from rapper-turned-expensive-shoe-designer Kanye West. Calling yourself a genius is certainly a stretch, but Kanye goes so much further than that. He tweets about sleeping on fur pillows. He has compared himself to Shakespeare. He bragged that his “greatest pain in life” is that he’ll “never see himself perform.”
What comes to mind when you think of pride?
You probably thought of arrogant athletes, school-yard bullies, or reality tv show stars. Our minds naturally think of pride as a puffed-up, Kanye-brand arrogance that would lead a person to make a picture of themselves their phone wallpaper. While that’s certainly prideful, that’s not the only expression of pride. It goes so much further than that; it’s putting yourself at the top of your priorities.
Pride prevents you from celebrating other people’s success.
Pride makes you obsessively count likes on every photo you post.
Pride prevents you from admitting you’re wrong, weak, or that you have a problem.
Pride can be poisonous. We often don’t realize it, but putting ourselves first has dangerous consequences. It throws our lives out of balance. Pride makes you refuse to admit that you need help. You may think that makes you strong, but it doesn’t. Pride doesn’t protect you; it imprisons you. When you are full of yourself, there is no room for anyone else. Jesus has a better plan for you.
John the Baptist was the front-runner to Jesus. Before Jesus kicked-off His ministry, John preached about what God was about to do through Jesus. With dreaded hair and a scraggly beard, John explained, “He must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30). If you follow Jesus, you should write this phrase somewhere you often see it. This is God’s design: more Jesus and less us.
You fight pride by putting God and others first. C.S. Lewis explained, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, rather it’s thinking of yourself less.” Be quick to apologize, serve others, and ask for help. Constantly think of other people’s needs over your own. You will quickly see that this is a better way to live as your life will become better balanced. Pride poisons, but humility heals.