Tuesday, January 4, 2011

January 4 The Language of Pride

Genesis 11:4  Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a twoer that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves.

Smith talks about two kinds of pride: a justified pride in doing a good job or even the pride a grandparent might feel in a newborn grandchild, and the insidious pride which broast and brags.  He goes on to say that human pride is at the very heart of all sin-elevating our will above his.

As I thought about this, I kind of agreed, only I would use different terminology.  The first kind of what he calls justified pride, I would use different words for.  I do not think it is wrong to acknowledge that God has given me certain abilities, or giftedness or even intelligence.  I do not call that pride.  I may exercise these abilities or talents, and even sharpen them, but the bottom line is that God made me that way.  God so moved in my genealogy that as my parents combined their DNA, certain things would be produced in me.  I would have a certain physical build, a certain appearance and health issues, even certain abilities that scientists believe are carried through our genes.  I had no choice in these matters; God did however, and I cannot take pride in them. Rather I must accept responsibility for them.

I should also not minimize or disregard or deny their place in my life.  It is not pride that I should have in relationship to these things, but simple acknowledgement that God did this.  God gave me a passion for writing, for dogs, for mountains, for water, for helping other people understand how much he loves them.  When God blesses any of those passions, he is due the praise.  I can be grateful that he has used me and blessed my efforts, but this is not place for pride.

I remember once, when I was a little girl, that I told my big sister I was proud of her when she sang in church.  Oh, did she scold me!  I had no business being proud of her.  She was only a vessel for God.  And I suppose in a way she was right.  But the problem with that is there is no place to acknowledge that God does good work, and sometimes in your life and mine.  I think of a friend of mine who crochets beautifully.  She has taught other young women how to do that, and she has blessed people with things she has crocheted.  (A side note - someone tried to teach me to crochet, and it was a sad thing.  I kept having to rip it out.  I had no passion, only clumsy fingers.)  So I appreciate her giftedness and how she has used it.  It is not pride for her to say that she does that well.  It is an acknowledgement of a gift from God and responsibility to glorify him through it.

So, I can say that I write....not well enough to make big money, but God keeps giving me opportunities and challenges to write.  Through this ability, I can glorify God and minister or encourage or edify the Body.  It isn't wrong to say I can write, to acknowledge that God made me that way.  The burden is whether I use it for my glory or  his.  Here in this blog is this place where we share; I long only to use this writing to bring glory to God.  He made me this way; he entrusted this ability and passion to me....just as he entrusted the ability to paint, or sew, or teach, or sing, or play the piano or evangelize or comfort to others.

Remember the parable of the talents, and the idea of burying one.  I think there are talented believers who are so fearful of the wrong kind of pride that they rob the Body of the blessing they could be.  They hide their talents from the Body, fearing pride that might come should someone recognize or praise them for it.  And the Body is robbed of that which God could use to help them build relationships with others with similar talents - to open the door to an opportunity to minister to them, to be a light to them.

Well, that is what is on my mind today.  I think about what a boring building most churches are when they could be beautiful like the temple, ornaments with the products of God's gifted people. 

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad to hear this other viewpoint on the subject, because I came away torn after reading Smith's entry - I had this feeling in me that there is another side to the story.

    If I am to use my gifts and abilities to encourage and edify the body then at some point they must be recognized. Paul says that one should not view their gift as being greater than another (which would be pride), but in order to use one's gift there must be an evaluation and acknowledgement of the gift(s) that you have.

    In my heart I must evaluate the use of my gift. I agree that it comes down to my motivation - am I using this gift to glorify myself or God.

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  2. Many years ago I read that men receive their self-esteem and self-image from their jobs, whether they actually like their jobs or not. The loss of a job is not just that - it is a loss of self-esteem and self-worth.

    I think recognition of our gifts is very similar. We are, in many ways, defined by what we do, create, build, make - whether it is a visible expression of the gift God has given us or not. When others do not validate that ability, our self-esteem plummets and we may lose the desire to continue to create for there is no joy in it.

    We need the praise of others, because, as it is prompted by God's love, such encouragement leads us to further practice the gift He has given us. Scripture is full of admonitions to build up one another, encourage one another, etc. Should we not accept the value another sees in us as an expression of creative God pouring Himself out in our lives and in our creations?

    Carol, I haven't read your chapter book yet, but I suspect that some (probably many) of your work express your love for God or some aspect of Him. He will gain glory from your creativity and the gift He has given you as the hearts of others identify with the words you have used to capture your own love and worship of God.

    When I look at artwork that causes my heart to soar, or I gain an insight into the character and person of God that another person has shared through their writing, or my soul identifies an emotion captured by an artist and I am brought into a worshipful frame of heart and mind because of the image....God is glorified. Amen.

    How many more artists and writers and teachers and craftsmen would there be if only others had come alongside to encourage them along the way.

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