Here’s to Stumbling Perhaps, But Not Falling

We all sense that pride precedes the fall. But at times, however, we don’t personalise it before it occurs. Our challenge is to see our pride as it looms and then humbly quash it before we have our consequential ‘problems’ to deal with.

It appears a condition of our humanity that we will all experience faults in the continuity of our attitudes to living situations, particularly as it pertains to our responses with people.

Still awry to our consciousness is this pattern that escapes. Only later perhaps do we find ourselves kicking ourselves within or, worse, we’re bitterly remorseful for an act or even an attitude, a mumbled word or thought. Complaints are often a sign of this. Worse than it all is we’ve made this sort of mistake before. It’s not the first time we’ve put our foot in it.

Heeding the Conscience

Warnings do come as our attitudes split off from our core values. Perhaps we’re quite understandably hurt. Notwithstanding, our own responses are our own responsibility.

It’s not that we want to beat ourselves up for our falls into pride. We can see from this relative distance—reflecting on the pride-trapped times of old—that everyone battles with it.

However, listening to and heeding our consciences is something that is a good habit to get into.

Our prayer is to be ever mindful of the cause and effect nature of stumbling attitudinally and falling into pride. Staying in God’s will this way will ensure:

“Though they stumble, they will never fall,

for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

~Psalm 37:24 (NLT).

Humility is but a ‘Willed’ Step Away

When we refuse ourselves the ‘right’ of pride, conforming ourselves to the standards of godly maturity, we live out the blessed reality that Psalm 37:24 speaks of. God is pleased to hold our hand as we stroll through the Spiritual garden of life harm-free.

We’re all tempted, and then we’re honoured of God when we sidestep that temptation, gaining that reined-in rule over our thoughts and feelings; the mind and heart behind them.

Awareness is obviously a key thing. Once we’re aware we can very easily make the disciplined decision that saves us much heartache and embarrassment later on. Then we can really thank God for the presence of insight bestowed on us by the Holy Spirit as we glance back.

Self-Knowledge

When we boil down all the liquid of life we’re left with a very important ‘residue’—how well, really well, do we know ourselves, and especially our fatal flaws?

Everyone has fatal flaws.

If we have sufficient self-awareness—a thing Emotional Intelligence experts have claimed for themselves—we have everything at our stead to ward against harmful pride. Self-knowledge is itself a journey.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.