Devotional: March 18th

Pride vs. Humility

Romans 12:1-2, James 4:6

In Romans 12, Paul encourages us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. That sounds beautiful...but in reality, surrender can be hard.

One of the biggest reasons we can't fully surrender ourselves to God is pride.

Pride is the opposite of humility. James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." A proud person puts confidence in their own wisdom, rather than seeking it from God. Proud independence is the root of all sin, because we think we can live independent of God.

Pride can show up in different ways. Sometimes our habits reveal where pride is leading us:

Do we tend to build ourselves up?

• examples: self-promotion and self-justification ("I can do it myself" or "I deserve this")

Do we tear ourselves down?

• examples: self-demotion and self-condemnation ("I'll never get there" or "I'm not good enough")

Pride wants to be the center of attention. But God wants us to draw near, to surrender, and to invite Him into the process. True transformation doesn't happen through pride and self-reliance. It happens through humility and surrender.

When we change the attitude of "I got this" to "He's got me" we'll start to feel the weight lifted as we make room for God to do His work within us. Our goals will change from "me" centered to "God" centered.

This week, let's focus on turning to Him, rather than ourselves. Both in the celebration and the struggle. Let's bring Him the glory and honor and lay down our pride.

Personal Reflection/Discussion:

• Where in your life do you see pride being the center of attention, or the motivation for what you do/think?

• How can you replace pride with humility and obedience?

• Feel free to share a time that you experienced transformation of the mind once you fully surrendered.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the strength You've given our bodies today. We ask that You help us release any pride that keeps us from fully surrendering to You. Teach us to rely on Your strength instead of our own. Renew our minds and help us see our bodies the way You do - as something to steward and offer back to You. Transform us from the inside out so that everything we do brings You glory. Amen.