GOOD THINKING: THE PLANT OF PRIDE

Once upon a time, there was a foolish farmer who lay around all winter. Early in the spring he bought some seeds, scattered them over the ground, and took a plane to Florida, saying: "The Lord will provide!"

Once upon a time there was a practical person who lived a very self-centered life, went to church if and when he felt like it, took a jet to Florida, saying: "The Lord will provide!"

A farm left to itself will grow up in weeds. A life left to itself will produce little good, and will eventually become a mass (mess) of confusion.

The church speaks about the Seven Deadly Weeds (Sins); one of those is PRIDE. What does the plant of pride look like?

1. The plant of pride has a large, rough stalk. On the outside it looks big and strong; on the inside it is hollow and weak. We try to be somebody we're not. We try to make people believe we're really somebody, when we're nobody. Martin Luther said: "Pride is our refusal to see ourselves as sinners and God as our Judge." Pride is our refusal to accept our limits, our weaknesses, and the fact that we are human and NOT God.

2. The plant of pride has a beautiful flower at the end of the stalk. The flower looks like a huge balloon. The apostle Paul warned us: "Pride is being all puffed up, like a balloon full of hot air." We get all puffed up over how good we are. "I'm a good moral person. I've never done anything bad, and I'm just as good as those people who go to that church." To which God replies: "I hate your goodness! Your goodness stinks! Your goodness is tainted with sin, and it stands between you and Me."

"Look what I've done. I'm independent. I did this myself, and I don't need God." To which God replies: "If you believe that, you are full of hot air. You're not independent, and you never have been. Everything depends on Me."

Finally, we get puffed up over our possessions. With great pride, we say, "That's my house, my car, my land, my air, my family, my life." To which God replies: "No! you're wrong again! All the things you've mentioned belong to Me. I've just lent them to you for a short time."

3. The plant of pride has no roots! Each time we deny our sin, affirm our independence of God, and get all puffed up with our own goodness, we are cutting ourselves off from the source of life. When life is rooted in us, we have no lasting foundation. A plant without roots soon dies.

How do we get rid of this plant of pride?

1. Admit that we are sinners. We sin every day against God and against our neighbors.

2. Accept our limitations. We are dependent on God for all we have, and we should stop trying to play God.

3. Confess our sins. My life is hollow. I'm full of hot air. I brag on myself too much. Lord, have mercy on me!

4. Rely on the power of God to overcome pride. Worship God. Study His word. Pray a lot. Look for ways to serve God and His people. Praise God. Thank God. These are the best means of weed (sin) control that anyone has ever found!