The Plumbline

Is it hard to live and work without pride getting in the way? I think we all know the answer to this is a resounding 'yes', but many times we forget just how much responsibility we each have in actually keeping our pride out of the mix. We cannot let pride get the inroad in our relationships, because if we do, we are bound to see a lot of arguments, hurt feelings, and even a little bit of envy entering into them. Why? Pride is going to set us against one another since it raises the opinion of one's value over another's value.  Live and work without pride. Be gentle and kind. Do not be hard on others. Let love keep you from doing that. Work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3) Where there is an inordinate amount of focus on what 'we' do and what value 'we' are in a situation, there could be a little bit of a problem with pride that is revealing itself. You might not realize it, but this c...

Pick up a yardstick to measure your life against anyone else's, and you've just picked up a stick and beaten up your own soul. (Ann Voskamp) I wonder just how many of us have done what Ms. Voskamp describes here - measuring our life against another's and another's until we are left feeling 'less than' or 'worse than' another. I think her observation of the 'yardstick' becoming an instrument that actually leaves us a little battered is quite appropriate. Maybe even more important is the root of the matter - we were never called to measure ourselves against others because others are not the standard by which we 'measure up'. Christ is and only him! Examine your own works so that if you are proud, it will be because of your own accomplishments and not someone else’s. Each person has his or her own burden to bear and story to write. (Galatians 6:4-5) We have our own story to write - this is the crux of the matter when it comes to c...