Sometimes pride can get in our way without us even knowing. Sometimes we get so full ourselves and how we have changed that we unknowingly get on our high horse. Just this past week I was at a gathering. During the gathering there was a man and as soon as I spoke to him, I assumed something was wrong with him. I assumed that he was “slow.” He spoke slowly, with slurred speech, and it was hard to understand him. But like the good “Christian” I am, I was polite to him and went out of my way to be nice to him. It was not until a few hours went by and I was talking to him that I noticed he had a hearing aid in. He was deaf……..Immediately I felt convicted. And you may think “why?” I was nice to him, I was polite, and made an effort to include him in group conversation. But all that really did not matter, because in my heart I judged him. Because of the way he came off, I made him out to be “slow” and felt that it was my obligation to be nice because something was wrong with him.
You may be wondering what does this have to do with anything. Well let me tell you. It was pride. It was me thinking that because I am such a “good person” that I could be nice to anyone without passing judgment, when really in my heart, I was passing judgment. Throughout the rest of the gathering he engaged in conversation about politics and he was far from having an intellectual delay.How many of us “Christians” get on our high horse and go out of our way to show people how nice we are, how Christian we are, or how accepting we are to all people? But deep down inside we are judging them.
If we choose to be a Christian, choose to be nice to someone, or be Christ like to someone, we should choose to do it because it is what God calls us to do. Not because it’s what we feel we should be doing as Christians. In case you are wondering what the difference is. One is acting a certain way because God wants you to act a certain way and because you want to glorify God you behave in a way He wants you to. And the other is acting a certain way to show the WORLD that you are acting “Christian.” When really we are out to please God and not the world.
All the while I thought that I was pleasing God by being nice, when in fact I was displeasing Him by secretly judging someone and feeling it was my obligation to be nice to this “poor soul.” I was wrong. God sees and loves everyone the same and therefore as a true Christian I am obligated to see everyone the same way. I should be nice to him because he is my brother in Christ. Not because I feel sorry for him.
Sometimes we can get on a soap box thinking that we are doing the right thing, when in fact we are dead wrong. And even though it may seem like we are doing the right thing on the outside, God convicts us to let us know that we are not as “high, mighty, and perfect as we think” and that we have a long way to go.
Through ever interaction and experience with others, we should seek to grow. And when we start to feel bad about something we should try to understand why we feel bad. More than likely it is because God is trying to convict us about something that we were doing wrong. Even though in this situation it was not apparent on the outside, I knew and more importantly God knew that my mind was wrong. There is no hiding the way you really are from God. And because of it, I was ashamed. In this situation, the best thing to do is be aware, ask for forgiveness, and go forward with a new mentality.
