Watching your pride

By Ellen Shuck

"Pride goes before the fall," my grandma said! I used to wonder what she meant. Wasn't pride a good thing? You must have pride in how you looked, pride in your actions and pride to do your best. You needed to be proud of what you were proud of too -- your gifts, accomplishments, family and so on. What did it mean to say, "Pride goes before the fall"? I wanted to investigate the meaning and ramifications of that clique.

Grandma was a very avid Bible reader, so I knew she must have found it somewhere in scripture. After searching widely, I found the verses in Proverbs 18--19. "Pride goes before destruction and a stiff spirit before a fall. Better it is to have a gentle spirit with the poor than take part in the rewards of war with men of pride."

I looked for instances where pride would be a bad thing. I thought of the experience of a man who finally learned the value of depending on another in time of need.

Jack's wife, Amanda, faced a scary incident. Her dad had emergency surgery. He had been receiving treatments for cancer, and the surgery was the final remedy to his healing. However, things didn't materialize as planned. Amanda's father contacted severe infections. His life was in danger.

Jack and Amanda were at a loss as to what to do. Amanda was an only child and she lived a long distance away. The couple also were parents to five children. They tried to handle everything on their own. Jack and Amanda declined to ask someone to help them.

Finally the two decided they couldn't handle the situation on their own. They must, out of necessity, ask for help. Jack's parents gladly came to the rescue and came to stay with the children. Rather than being embarrassed and feeling as if they had imposed on the parents, it turned into a great experience for everyone.

Amanda was able to go and stay with her sick father and help her mother, as well. Jack's mom and dad had the opportunity to visit with and become closer to all the children. Jack mentioned afterward that he couldn't have made it through without their assistance. He and Amanda finally realized how much others care and will gladly give up their time and energy to help out when they're needed.

Rather than feel less capable and like you're able to make it by yourself, reach out and ask for another hand. In that instance, false pride in one's ability to take care of everything made no sense. To swallow your pride and admit everyone has to have assistance eventually, is a show of strength and courage rather than weakness.

Going through trials and seeing how others respond to your plight with joy is a wonderful learning tool. It is but a tiny portion of the love your God has for you. Romans 8:37-39 gives you a glimpse: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels or rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Before you can trust God, you have to put your pride in self aside, and before you can accept help from people you must admit you're less than invincible. Pride has a rightful place in life, but you have to be on guard about pompous pride -- the kind that leads to self-glorification.

Yes, Grandma, with her little grey hair bun, cotton knee socks held up with rolled garters and flower sack dress complete with white apron was always ready to quote from her Bible. She caused me to watch and remember that "Pride goes before the fall."