The Gift

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Have you ever taken the time to pick out a special gift for a friend or family member? Maybe it was for a special occasion, such as a birthday, anniversary, or holiday. Can you recall the thought that went into choosing the gift? Was it the right color, size, something he or she could use, would it bring them joy? So much time, effort, and thought went into choosing the gift that you thought, “They are going to love this gift!” You just knew he or she was going to really get a kick out of receiving this gift. Recall or imagine the dismay you felt when the gift was received with less enthusiasm than a rock! The joyful response you had anticipated was instead a whimper of anything but joy. You found yourself a little hurt, wounded, and instead of asking, “Do you like your gift you felt as though you should offer the receipt so the gift could be returned.” At least, you reasoned, the cash would be used and not wasted as the gift would be as it made its way to the back of a closet or drawer or worse yet, re-gifted!

Have you ever been the person, who was less than enthusiastic to receive a carefully well thought out gift, such as the gift of another day or grace? I know I have on many occasions. God has graciously given me so many gifts yet there have been times, when unknowingly and sometimes knowingly I have not accepted the gift as a blessed child should. Instead, I lack enthusiasm because I do not believe I deserve the gift. This act of pride will hinder our relationship with the Lord and prohibit the Lord from showing us His grace.

Pride is one of those subtle sins that can sneak into your life without even knowing it is there until it has caused havoc. It is not harshly judged by our society and people will not hold you accountable if there is pride in your life. This is why, we as Christians, need to be aware of the signs of pride in our lives so we can guard against it. Throughout the Bible there is much on the subject of pride and its negative affects. It is obvious pride is a condition of the heart that the Lord wants us to be aware of and protect against. Because of consciousness of time and space here lets look at the Book of Proverbs. In Proverbs alone there are numerous verses on the subject of pride: Let’s look at what the Book of Proverbs speaks of as some of the results of Pride:

Pride will put you to shame. Proverbs 11:2
Pride will cause trouble or strife in one’s life. Proverbs 13:10
Pride will cause destruction. Proverbs 16:18, 18:12

Pride is a sin that can cause all kinds of issues. It prevents us from humbling ourselves and coming before the Lord and seeking His forgiveness, as a result we continue to spiral further and further away from Him and fall into a lifestyle that will produce shame, cause conflict, and lead to spiritual and physical destruction, or both. This is evident in society and Christian’s lives and communities, where we see various types of addictions, the removal of God from everyday living, destruction of family, and a hardening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

What do we do if we find we have not accepted the Lord’s gift because of pride?

Next week I’ll post more on this topic. I will leave this for now so you can think on it! Stay tune!