Pride

* The feeling that I always need to be recognized for the things I do, or the things I accomplish. The satisfaction of accomplishing something that I love is not enough for me.

* I am hurt, and I can't accept the fact that the very person who hurt me is now getting praise from others. They don't know this person like I know them.

* I have been the top of my class since middle school, graduated with a full-ride scholarship. My peers and family are no where on my level. All they would do is bring me down.

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Bitterness, jealousy, selfishness, revenge, unforgiveness, ungratefulness etc.! What do all of these have in common? They each have an element of PRIDE. Maybe the above scenarios sound familiar in our own lives. Perhaps, we have never flat out said those things, but they could very well be in our thoughts. Pride has very much to do with our thoughts and how we perceive ourselves.

The first scenario regarding recognition is definitely familiar to me. Recently I have seen an ugly area in my life where I am feeling the need to be recognized for things I do. From a human perspective we all may have different definitions of what pride is, but because I believe Christ DIED so He could SAVE ME (that is enough reason to correct our pride), and because I believe the Bible to be true; here is a clear definition of what pride is: Pride is being motivated by our own desires while refusing to acknowledge our dependence upon Him. Pride is also a deceiver, making us believe we DESERVE higher than we should....(E.g: Satan deceiving Adam and Eve)  .

Consider Isaiah 14:13, where it talks about how Satan wanted to be like "The Most High." Now I don't think that all people who may struggle with pride intentionally think they are above God, however pride can make us lose focus of some very important truths! Here are 2 ways of battling pride.

(The following "Truths" were found from "Relationships: A Mess Worth Making" by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp).

Truth 1 (Identity): Identity is who we are. We are all sinners in desperate NEED of a Savior. No matter how you look at it, this makes everyone in common! On this earth we are all sinners interacting with other sinners.

Truth 2 (Worship): Worship is essentially acknowledging who God is. God is love, God is Sovereign. God created US. God sent His Son as a Savior. 

So we must remember who we are, and remember who God is; under the basis of what Christ did. When we remember this, we can overcome pride. 

Ephesians 2:8-10 sums it up beautifully:

^"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Verses dealing with Pride: 

http://encouragingbiblequotes.com/versespridea.html

Relationships start with YOU!

It has been a little while since I have last updated the blog with a new post, but as the goal with every post, my hope is that this will be a blessing to anyone who reads it. More importantly I pray it is pleasing in God's sight. I am merely just writing what God has revealed to me.

Here we go, everyone's favorite subject right? Relationships lol. This is not a post where I describe what qualities I would like in a young lady or venting about how good women are lacking. No, I would like to challenge myself and others to focus on one very important aspect regarding relationships: Ourselves!!

You see it countless times, individuals brag about how they can OBTAIN a relationship, but ironically they can't seem to MAINTAIN a relationship.

That is the problem sometimes. Individuals break up and blame the other person for the mistakes made and never take the necessary time look at themselves. Unfortunately they go through this cycle of one relationship after another, always assuming it is the other person's fault. However, it is time to go back to basic Grade School math...
What (or WHO)is the common denominator?...

Consider these wise words I have learned from my mother, "If you learn how to become unselfish and admit your mistakes, any relationship you are in has potential to grow." In other words, if you are willing to work on yourself, watch your expectations of others decrease. Your expectations of others become more realistic!

Matthew 7:3-5 says it all!

"3 And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." (NLT).