If you came to read the Insights before reading today’s passage, take a minute and visit John 9:13-41. If you don’t read it through yourself a time or two, you miss the amazing play on words that takes place in these verses around sight and blindness.
Pride certainly seems like the creepiest of the 7 Deadly Sins as it is hard to recognize in ourselves and in our own lives. It creeps in, skulking and sneaking into our attitude. We have trouble seeing pride–it’s so easy to be spiritually blind like the Pharisees. Can you see their pride in verse 28, ” Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!’” ? What’s your “I’m better than you” phrase? Meet you for ice cream? Honey, I’m thin because I don’t eat carbs. OR Oh, that’s your Civic–let’s take my BMW instead. OR Nice job on that sale, now maybe we will let you do some real work like the rest of us. You know… the things that diminish another or elevate ourselves or both.
Some of us get prideful because of our religious faith, readily claiming a righteousness that only God can impart. Others of us can’t see our need for Jesus because we are so completely full of ourselves. Either way, we put ourselves above others and take credit for God’s gifts and blessings in our lives. Pride is nasty stuff–I know, because I live with varying amounts of it at any given time.
So, how do we live differently? I like this quote from St. Thomas A’Kempis, “If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble.” Praying Psalm 131 with some regularity helps remind me of the attitude I should have… “My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed myself and quieted my ambitions. I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.”
Praying that you can find rest for your ambitions and hope in the LORD.
Rev. Molly Simpson is the Campus Pastor at Resurrection’s West Campus in Olathe. She is available by email, molly.simpson@rezwest.org, Facebook, and tweets as @rezwestpastor.
