Trading Ego for Embrace

Letting Go of Pride

Pride is everywhere in our world. The culture constantly tells us to hustle, forge our own path, sleep when we’re dead, and keep reinventing ourselves to stay relevant. It’s all about winning, being better than everyone else, making big moves, and proving ourselves to those who’ve hurt us.

I’ve felt that internal tug-of-war too, this constant struggle between feeding my ego and remembering that the gospel calls me to lay down my life and pick up my cross.

But there’s this huge misconception that to serve and love others well, we have to become doormats. That’s not it at all.

Since stepping into church leadership, I’ve seen how spiritual burnout is practically a badge of honor in the faith community.

How did we get here?

Where serving has been twisted into this exhausted, overworked, barely-surviving kind of servitude? Why have we normalized pouring out to others without making sure we’re being poured into ourselves?

I want to dive into an example of where we see pride in scripture:

Genesis 3-

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

Heres what we can see about what happens with pride vs. what scripture tells us.

1. We begin to question the word and character of God

   1. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

   2. But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20

2. We begin to think we know more than what God has already spoken to be true.

3. We begin to question God's character and heart for us

   a. JOB 38 is PACKED goodness (link to full chapter https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2038&version=NIV)

   b. "Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?3 Brace yourself like a man;    I will question you,    and you shall answer me. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?    Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!    Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set,    or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?..."

   
   

4. When we let pride into our heart we begin to lose our intimacy with God

   a. "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." Romans 1: 20-24

   
   

   From the very beginning, God’s heart for us has always been deep connection and relationship with Him. The greatest joy and fulfillment in life is truly knowing Jesus. Pride distances and separates us from God because it blinds us to how desperately we need Him. It keeps us from seeing how empty life is without Him, how nothing we gain in this world can ever compare to the eternal embrace and nearness of God.

   Today, I pray we take a hard look at the areas of pride in our lives. That when the world is shouting at us to be who we want to be, we will instead strive to be who Christ set the example to be. When the world says to hustle harder, play harder, act harder, may we choose to be gentle, to rest, and to remain in Jesus.

   I pray we never build walls between ourselves and the Lover of our souls. I pray we never become too big, too bold, too important to run into our Father’s arms and stay at His feet.

   
   
   
   
   
   

   Reflection questions:

   • What areas of your life have you been striving to control instead of surrendering to God’s presence?

   • How has the pursuit of self-reliance or recognition impacted your relationship with Jesus?

   • In what ways have you allowed pride to build walls around your heart, preventing you from fully experiencing God’s love and guidance?

   • What would it look like for you to rest at the feet of Jesus, letting go of the need to prove yourself?

   • How can you intentionally make space for God to pour into you, especially in seasons of serving and giving to others?

   • How can you focus on letting go of pride?