Break me, O' Lord

I fear to admit that I believe that I am self- righteous….. There it’s out!

…and I know it, seems like I have always known it. What is harder though is that I know people like me, are on the road to perdition. So now I have decided to take on the fight and bout this out. In total submission , I refuse to nourish this attitude any further and am beginning the battle to change, and consciously choose humility.

This attitude can creep up on you. I know that I do not choose to be like this, but I have come to the realization that sometimes, pride takes over, even for a tiny space of time, in my daily relations with people. Sometimes we boast of having a great memory; material possessions like cars, houses; physical attributes like great abs, beautiful hands; giving the needy money so that others can see; praying longer and louder than the rest; even that we believe more in God than others do… it does creep on you, I said.

Matt 6:1: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them." When the Lord says, “Be careful,” he signals just how tempting it is to take earthly credit and boast about what one has done.

Admitting that we have these feelings, I have realized, is the key to gradually getting rid of them. Well you do not have to publicly do it, like I just have, but in the least bit, there has to be some sort of admission because by nature, as humans, we are inherently smug and self-righteous, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes...” So in my own self- righteousness I sometimes boast of my knowledge, my talents, my experiences, my continence, my abilities and my accomplishments, All of these, if we come to think of it, are credited to me by God. So how dare I, how dare I!

The degree of self-righteousness will vary from person to person, but all in all, I have realized that this self- righteousness is more deeply ingrained in me, first as a human and then as me, than I thought was so.

I have figured, that for me, the key is recognizing when such an attitude presents itself and consciously remembering to willfully curse it out, to nip it in the bud, as it were, and choose not to continue in its tenor.

Let us remember that it is the praise from our Creator that counts, not the praise from other people and strive not to be like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14.

If there are any like me out there, I exhort you, please join me and let us battle the evil nature so that we can be victors of our accursed human nature.