“Think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3
Pride. The “P” word. Our culture is often telling us to have pride. They usually mean that pride is the opposite of shame. We’re basically being told to not be ashamed of who we are: of our race, or our family, or our physical attributes or even disabilities. And there’s a lot of truth in that. But you don’t have to read the Bible very much to realize that God warns us against pride. In this instance, we usually think of pride as being the opposite of humility. You know, someone who is always bragging and showing off. If we put those two definitions of pride together, we end up believing we should not be ashamed, but also we shouldn’t brag about ourselves.
I’m not sure either of these is exactly what the Bible is talking about when we’re warned against pride. This verse in Romans tells us to think of ourselves with sober judgment. That means to seriously and thoughtfully consider who we are. Be honest. Don’t make excuses for our failings, and view our successes only as compared to God, not other people. When we do that, we very quickly see that we have nothing about which to brag. Especially when we consider that even our faith was given to us by God.
We usually consider pride as thinking too much of ourselves. I’d like to suggest that pride is thinking of ourselves too much. It doesn’t matter if we think we’re all that and a bag of chips, or if we’re scum of the earth. If we’re thinking of ourselves, that’s pride. Thankfully, God has helped me overcome shyness. I know from experience that shyness is nothing more than pride. When I walked into a room, I would be thinking of myself, wondering what others were thinking of me, or if anyone noticed that I tripped, or that I didn’t, or if I’m wearing the right kind of clothes. I, I, I. That’s pride. It doesn’t matter that I wasn’t bragging about myself. In fact, I didn’t think I was worth much. Either way is not seeing the situation from God’s perspective. I’m worth dying for. So are you. But not because you or I are any more special than anyone else. In God’s eyes, each one of us is a priceless treasure because each one of us is made in His image.
So let’s take our eyes off ourselves and put them on God, where they belong. Let’s start seeing others and the world through His eyes. Instead of thinking only of ourselves, let’s ask God to give us the mind of Christ, a mind that loves God and loves others. When our eyes are securely locked on Him, we’ll find that our heart will follow. There will be no room left for pride because our hearts will be full of Him. And He’s worth bragging about!