Tag: humble

prejudiced by pride

Karla Lees

First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.
Proverbs 16:18

“That will never happen to me.”

Little did I know as a young girl all that was going to occur in my life.
Molested, lonely, teased, bullied, abandoned, date raped, physical injuries… as much happened to my outsides as did to my insides.

In an attempt to keep a lid on all that, and more, I shoved it all down under close watch, using a razor sharp tongue and sarcastic humor to protect myself from further wounding. On the outside, I appeared to have it all together.

I was proud of how no one noticed. Seriously.. And because I could hold it all together (at least I thought I could with the lie I told myself at that time) I didn’t have much use for people who fell apart at the first sign of trouble.

My pride led to prejudice.

And colored my worldview glimpse of my neighbors for quite awhile.

After God met me in the pit of my own making, many things had changed instantly. My pride at keeping a lid on what was swirling below wasn’t one of them.

Soon after, I married into a family of extremes. High highs and low lows, there always seemed to be a lot of drama ready to erupt.

Coming from my background, heavily influenced by my staunch British raised step father’s upbringing, this just added fuel to the fire of my pride. I was proud my family didn’t have so much drama, until some of the history was shared with my bewildered ears, and I realized my family drama may not have been visible, but was equally dramatic, especially as it had been hidden away under…you guessed it, pride.

My side of the family (both my maternal & paternal) is exceptionally talented with their hands & minds. The one flaw? The privacy of pride.

All of us, to some degree or another, want to keep our stuff private.

God wants us to be free from secrets that harm, lies we are ensnared by, and emotions that threaten to overwhelm us if they are released.

Pride is one of the keys we need to hand over to God, so He can set us free from its cage, and destroy its hold on us.

I know, because I ran full tilt into that cage, and lived there for way longer than I came to admit.

We don’t look at the world, others or ourselves from His viewpoint when pride us in the way, but our pride-led knee jerk reactions.

Take Mr Darcy for example.
Raised well, he was instructed how to live a good life, without the guidance of his parents to help him avoid the pitfall of pride. Like his home, Pemberly, he was made of stone. Pride & propriety before all at the beginning of Pride & Prejudice. After meeting & falling in love with Lizzy Bennet, he began to question how his pride led him astray into actions he looked back on with regret.

Lizzy Bennet, a very sharp intelligent woman also struggled with pride. Her encounters with Mr Darcy slowly stripped her prejudice from her eyes as the truth of his character was revealed to her over time.

Two characters, from different rank & backgrounds, both struggled with pride.

And they are not alone, are they?

The enemy was the first fall from pride, and takes great delight in luring humanity into that same fall.

Pride doesn’t allow for change, weakness or a plea for assistance.

It only leads one way until it is uprooted.

If any if these words strikes chord or resonate within, head for the secret place.

God will reveal the state of our minds & hearts to us if we ask, and wait for His response.

But God doesn’t leave us there, once we realize we were in the out of our own making.

He lifts us out, restores our peace, imparts hope and new life, and takes us by the hand as we move on with Him.

The only One worthy of being proud is the humblest of us all. Jesus laid Himself down for us, and God elevated Him to His true position at His side after He did so, honoring Him.

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. James 4:7-10

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Falling down, in or away? Which will it be today?

Karla Lees

Pride goes before a fall.

We’ve all heard that saying at some time or another, possibly with ‘goeth’ or some other variation. But did you know its actually based on a bible verse?!

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18 NIV

I believe there are only three ways we can fall when pride is involved.

The first is eternally beautiful, the second eternally grateful. the third isn’t at all.

Let me explain.

When pride is involved, we can block God from freeing us as He is wanting, longing to from the things binding us or holding us back.

There are only two ways pride leads. (The third is an off shoot of the first)

One is to fall to your knees in humility before God, and acknowledge your pride was a stumbling block to His Presence.

The other is to fall away. To keep yourself upright when its the worst thing for you. To fall away from where He meant you to be.

Our fall out breaks His heart, as it reminds Him of Eden.

When Adam & Eve fell, pride in the belief that we can be self sufficient and not need anyone else entered the world, where before they walked closely with God, working for Him in the garden.

When sin separates us from God, it rips a hole in the fabric of our hearts, against His design, to make room for sin’s traveling mates. Pride is one of the most deadly companions to accompany sin.

For pride leads us into further sins…in our minds, our actions, our wills…which affects our spirit within by putting a damper on its voice.

When we are full of pride, we cannot see our desperate need for God.

Pride goes before a fall because it refuses to look up for help, or bend the knee to accept it.

We only have to take a look at Jesus to know there is no negative pride to be found in God.

Rest assured, our Abba is proud of His children, as every parent is. But that doesn’t mean He likes everything about us all the time.

Jesus followed where His Father led Him, even to the cross. His fall restored, restores the effect, the impact of Eden’s fall on the world.

His actions were designed to help us fall to our knees and adore Him, not drive a wedge between God and man ever again.

The wedge is now solely of our doing, and pride is one of the pinnacle tools of deception the enemy uses to lead His kids to fall away.

I know myself too well now to allow pride anything but a temporary blip in my mind anymore.

For I know the pain of being in pride’s grip, and the battle I waged to become free of it.

Only One is meant to be elevated above all others, and it isn’t you, me or the enemy.

Only One rules and sits on the throne over all.

Only One who should stir us to bow the knee in worship & service when we realize the depths of the fall He voluntarily took to show us His love.

The falls we should be working on? Falling to our knees in worship, and falling deeper in love with Him.

The fall we need to avoid? Thinking we are more than we are, and that we don’t need community to make it through this world. The reality is we all need one another, to help remind one another He is for us, and how much we need to seek Him in all things.

Pride? Pride only leads you away from the One who humbled Himself to get your attention & announce His intention for more than we often choose to settle for.

Pride stops us from listening to His voice, and hearing what we need to make it through whatever we are facing.

Pride leads to fall out we cannot anticipate as a result of our choices.

Its time to fall deeper in the right direction.

Before you take the fall He hopes you’ll never make.

Fall to your knees, and fall head over heels with the One who will lift you up, and love you with a devoted ferocity breathtaking in its adoration and passion!

#humblefall
#fallinlove
#dontfallaway

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where are you drawn to sit?

Karla Lees

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I don’t know about you, but I am much more comfortable with a person who is down to earth than one who thinks too highly about themselves.

Oh sure, they may have cool skills, or have completed awesome tasks with accolades, but humility within a person is what truly makes them great.

I love how Jesus came amongst us:

Humble, born to a good family that had fallen on hard times with their country being occupied by outsiders.

A knowledgeable man who knew His bible inside & out (coz He is part author!) yet took the time to put it into story & fable for common folk to grasp its meaning, yet smart enough to outwit the best scholars of His day. A rabbi for everyone, not just His disciples.

A skilled man who got His hands dirty learning a trade, who camped in the outdoors & walked everywhere.

A compassionate man who never turned down a genuine request.  Who made the best wine come at the time when the cheapest is usually served.

The one who walked the path to the cross and suffered such pain, humiliation, affliction and soul torment to reunite us to Himself, once and for all.

The one who sat with the IRS, mentally ill, blue collared workers, drop outs and zealots.  Let a woman he was not married to pour an extravagant costly amount of perfume over His feet mixed with her tears as she applied it.  The one who talked with those who weren’t His people, yet showed them kindness when the custom was to stay well apart.

The one who saves the best for last humbled Himself to death, letting the enemy think he had won.

But God knew the end of that story, and which was & is: His story will never end, but last forever!

If i have to choose between sitting with the low of my day- the single moms, the divorced, the broke, the homeless, the strugglers… versus those who might have it all together in appearances but not give me the time of day? I choose to stay with the humble.

I am so happy to be in His stronghold that I am content to sit anywhere, as long as I can see Jesus!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to sit on His lap, be wrapped in His embrace, and gaze adoringly into His eyes & face.

And I know He wants me to, coz He adores me.

Yet I can see Him in the love that flows between the humble ones I choose to sit with. The ones who struggle to pay their bills, to care for difficult family members, who suffer loss and experience grief. For I am one of the broken, the lost that He came to save and restore.

Jesus humbled himself to our level, to meet our needs face to face. I can not but do the same.

When we humble ourselves as He leads, He will lift us up. Maybe not in the material ways we tend to associate with greatness, but His word promises He will lift us up.

I would rather hear His voice say “Well done!” than live in a mansion with everything I could desire, save Him..

I have seen enough power struggles on the news and the lives of those closest to me to know that greatness apart from God has no eternal value.

So yes, I would rather humbly walk the slow walk with one I am ministering to as He leads, than hobnob with those who are rich & famous, and full of their own self importance.

It is who we are within that reveals true greatness, not what is only skin deep on the outside, or actions which don’t last into eternity.

I choose to sit at the same tables Jesus did, and walk with those He walked beside, because I too am broken & know just how much I need Him.

Note: I am NOT saying humble people who do great things are haughty. Haughty comes out as an expression of the heart. Nor am I saying not to do great things. Allow God to promote you as you seek Him, not the accolades.