Pride

It was recently suggested to me that if there is a single sin greater than any others, it’s Pride. It’s Pride, it was argued, because Pride essentially can be defined as “My way is better [than God's]” and almost every other sin is linked to Pride, one way or another.

And I think about my American neighbours to the south today who have gone nuts with this recent Chick-Fil-A debacle.

And I think about all the photos I saw of people lining up outside CFA restaurants (and I wasn’t even looking for them, they just popped up in my news feed on Facebook), of people posting images and pictures talking about why they were going to, or not going to, eat at CFA today, and of people arguing to the point of uselessness about why the other side is wrong, insensitive, out-to-lunch, or just plain evil.

And I think that pretty much sums up Pride, right there.

If Jesus were here today amongst us in the flesh, I imagine He’d be far away from the bustle and noise at the fast food restaurants. I bet He’d be with the modern day tax collectors, thieves and whores: the LGBT community, the alcoholics and drug addicts, the gamblers, the poor, the widows, the orphans (both literal and figurative). I bet He’d be hanging out at a youth drop-in somewhere in the inner city ghetto – if He was in the US at all, that is.

Maybe He would have bought a chicken sandwich or some waffle fries today, but it wouldn’t have been to feed Himself or to make a political statement. It would have been to share with those with empty bellies. He might have taken five sandwiches and three medium fries and fed ten thousand.

I can’t help but feel no matter how well-intentioned people may be in sharing their pictures of their “statements” today, they’ve forgotten what it means to be humble.

Do you remember the time that Jews were persecuted and often Roman soldiers asked them to carry their gear for a mile? Do you remember the time Jesus said, “Walk the extra mile”? Do you remember when Jesus said to turn the other cheek?

What about the time Jesus asked us to love our neighbours as ourselves? I don’t recall Him saying that our neighbours are only the people who look like us, talk like us, are married like us, believe like us.

Are these things that a proud person finds easy to do?

So, I guess what I’m trying to get at is this: please examine your motives.

If you find that Pride is your primary motivation (“My way is better than God’s”), perhaps you might consider a different approach?