Mike Law, a pastor in Arlington, Virginia, has posted an excerpt on pride from Unpacking Forgiveness.
I mentioned earlier that I’ve recently been reading Chris Brauns’ bookUnpacking Forgiveness. There are several reasons that I’d recommend this book, but if nothing else, I’d recommend this book for Brauns insights on page 81. That page is stuffed full of things that challenged my heart. Just consider this insight on pride:
“Pride is not limited to arrogance or cockiness; it is not just an inflated opinion of oneself. Pride is any way of putting self into the central focus.”[1]
Helpfully Brauns goes on to offer a list of questions to help his readers think about how pride might be expressing itself in our lives. Consider his questions and reflections from, you guessed it, page 81!
“Are you overly critical? Discernment is a good thing (Philippians 1:9-11; Romans 12:1-2). But discerning people sometimes go a step too far in feeling the need to critique everything. Pride is the root problem.
“Are you insecure? Insecurity often betrays a person too narrowly focused on self.
Read more here.
See also, his recommendation.
I am glad to be pointed back to those questions on pg. 81, and review.