Pride has both positive and negative connotations.  Imagine a line, on the left the positive, and on the right end is negative, with the middle the balance.  But sometimes, the magnetic field pulls stronger on one side because of our free will.  I don’t mean control, but it could be part of our makeup that we have gotten used to, what we’ve learned throughout life, and how people respond to us.

On the positive side, growing up, our doting parents thought the world of us, give us praise of every achievement no matter how small, and we get used to it until they’re no longer there to continue to do it.  Then all of a sudden, we crave it from maybe the real world, who is not so impressed by us.  Now it becomes our mission, to get approval.  Then there is the negative side.  We never got approval from anyone especially our parents, so we strive to do things perfectly.  When someone corrects us, we tend to resent the correction lest we were viewed to be imperfect and vulnerable.

I read somewhere in the Bible that God hates pride (remember I don’t memorize verses?).  If I’m not mistaken, it is also one of the 7 deadliest sins.  Not deadly in a way that if you are prideful, you physically die.  It’s more like a spiritual death.  We all need to be careful to listen closely to what God says so we do not fall into these traps.  So let’s dissect…

In my opinion, all fall-outs unnecessary.  Maybe we  need to just take a breath, regroup and see that in the grand scheme of things negative personal feelings are such a waste of time.

So let’s just say you had a falling out with a sibling.  At the end of the day, you’re still related.  But pride separates people.  Neither one wants to forgive the other and start hashing things out.

When you’ve had a falling out with someone, you go to sleep with a heavy heart, or even worse, lose sleep over it.  Even if you did finally fall asleep, you wake up  still thinking about it, and get that heavy heart back.  And for what?  Oh he/she hurt my pride.  What???  Pride is the pain, without it, nothing gets hurt.  I can’t sit here and say I am perfect, I let everything negative bounce off me like a racquetball wall.  Far from it.  But when I realize it I try to make the necessary changes.

Look at this painting.  What a face!  Even I had qualms about painting it and confused because I only like to paint beautiful things.  This one was a real challenge.  But that’s exactly how pride makes you feel inside.  Unpretty and unattractive.  Be this way enough and you start physically feeling it in your own body.  Blood pressure goes up, wrinkles start to form, focus start to fade, and the list goes on.  Is it really worth jeopardizing your health too?  Simply said, rid yourself of pride.

Shy of perfection, pay attention to yourself enough to determine if pride makes you a better person.  Before it gets you down the path of death, get rid of it.  Being the “bigger” person, or turning the other cheek is difficult but is also such a pride killer!  The Bible says, you reap what you sow.  Just think about how the other person reacts to your unexpected apology, or even maybe an onlooker who sees it.  You can be such a blessing to them.  Easier said than done?  I know…  but you may be surprised the heavy burden lifting off  and instant balance you will feel.

With that said… Love one another 🙂