No, you have not been in a time warp.
No, your clock and calendar didn’t get messed up while you slept, ate, played, or whatever.
I will be out of town on Friday having lunch with my old college friend (eating pizza and sometimes laughing so hard it hurts); then my grandson and both daughters will be coming in for the weekend (I’m sorry they take precedence over my blog and any commenting I might do. I know you are crying right now, but deal with it). 
So I thought I would jump the gun a little and post my normal Friday sermon post on Thursday. You watch. I’ll be the one who gets messed up.
We talk a lot about pride. Here. There. Everywhere. We talk about pride’s deception. We talk about pride’s destruction. Pride can be upon us and take its toll before we even realize it. Pride has a destructive tendency that rears its ugly head far more than I like to admit. Not that I am proud or have problems with pride. I have seen it in others. 
Seems strange after all David has been through that one of the last things he would deal with is his pride. If you look here you can read the story. Long story short? David’s pride got in the way and the resulting onslaught was devastating.
Three years of famine
Three months of running from his enemies.
Three days of pestilence.
Each had its downside. David chose the latter. God’s hand was swift and terrible, but equally swift was His mercy. And true to David’s heart, when he saw what was happening, he fell on his face before God in repentance and assumed all the blame. I have no answer to someone who may want to pick at God for His seeming uncaring attitude toward the people by punishing them because of David’s pride. Some say it was divine judgment for the people of Israel abandoning David and following rebels like Absalom. In the Chronicles passage (I Chron. 21) we are told it was Satan who instigated the whole thing.
My concern is the pride David exhibited. It was so bad that he brushed aside his highest ranking officer when advised against it. I have exhibited that same type of pride. “Hey Bill!” Brush. “Don’t you think?” Brush. “May I suggest?” Brush. “You idiot!” Brush. And I have felt the sting of pride’s poison. Straight to the heart.
I am willing to bet you have a time or two also. A word. An “air” about us. An attitude. An action. Been there? How did God bring you back to earth? I’d like to hear you story.
This is the last sermon in my David: Transformed by Passion series. It has been a first for me. It has also been refreshing. Thanks to all of you for your prayers.
I fight pride everyday…multiple times.
Might be a common malady.
Pride? Oh yeah I get it bad sometimes. I am better than I used to be, but it is still part of my fabric. Have a great weekend.
I do fine sometimes also Daniel but then it flares up. Thanks. You too.
Pride can be a positive or a negative depending on semantics.
Aristotle considered Pride to be one of the greatest virtues while some religions consider it a sin.
I think it depends on whether the pride comes from good and virtuous actions or thoughts or whether it comes from a lack of self esteem, guilt or worrying about what others think of you.
If a person studies hard and gets a good grade, or practices very hard to master a musical instrument the result will be a feeling of pride. If a teenager rejects the urge to succomb to peer preasure and do what is right he/she should be proud of their decision. The emotion of pride will be impossible to stop. This is a good thing.
On the other hand if Pride is an attempt to convince ones self or others that you are more important,superior, or too good for certain things then you are manuafacturing an umwarranted Pride to compensate for your lack of self esteem, guilt, or other such personal deficiencies. This is usually manifested in bragging, boasting, or some lack of humility. This can be a bad thing.
I happen to admire people that have good reasons to be proud. But I also know a lot of people that seem to be quite proud for no reason.
At any rate semantics are fun.
No doubt there is good pride. Taking pride in an accomplishment is good unless it puffs up the ego. Then… But you make a good point Jeff. I appreciate your perspective.
I think it’s in us all to be prideful. it’s in our nature.
What’s the middle letter in the word ‘pride’?
That says it all about us.
Did someone say Savior? Yes…we need one.
I would like to say I have it licked but the “I” comes up way too often.
Any time a person gets their stupid on, others suffer.
Yes, I’ve been there more than once.
You made me chuckle Susan with “get their stupid on.” Had to look into the mirror.
I fight the dreaded monster of pride daily… It actually beat me yesterday… On my face this morning God delivered me…
The love of self is the root of all of the problems in this world… the one that starte with the original sin…
Praying for you this weekend.
Least you recognized it and dealt with it. Being on the face before God is sure the way to handle it.
Dating, marriage, and parenting have all been places where my pride has been kept in check. When my wife and I were getting to know each other, I remember trying to be all cool by sliding down at banister at our college. My pride was quickly deflated when I went head over heels over the banister and landed on my rear. It hurt me physically, but it also embarrassed me as well. She stuck with me though.
I laughed out loud Jon and then said, “Now that’s love!” Amazing how our pride gets the best of us sometimes.
Hi Bill,
I’m thinking that David’s pride caused him to begin relying on his own resources (the number of his fighting men) instead of God. I think that God showed him how foolish this was.
God can save by many or by a few. I Samuel 14:6
David was a leader in Israel. His decisions impacted many others. I think that this is shown when David makes this error that is costly. It cost 70,000 Israel lives.
Today, we have the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ. He does not make these kind of errors like King David did. Jesus Christ is an infallible High Priest too.
Believers make errors when they trust in men (their leaders) instead of looking to God, reading their Bibles, and seeking the giftings of the Holy Spirit for themselves. In today’s church in North America believers are trusting in a broken reed to save them.
There’s going to be grave consequences for those church leaders who allow this, instead of greatly encouraging the believers to seek God.
No question that is what happened Linda. Even Joab recognized it. But David’s pride wouldn’t even allow him to listen to his adviser.
Pride. Yeah. Oh yeah.
As for God bringing me to account for it? You’ve seen my life the last few years.
Unfortunately, some accounting is firmer than others. I have had mine but not nearly like you have.
For me, God crushes my pride with failure. It’s painful, but ultimately it reveals to me my idols of success.
Well said Loren. Failure can be seen as a great lesson-giver.
Ohh Susan…so true & I laughed!!
I know I’ve struggled with pride, but mostly it’s not a huge issue for me, as I tend to have lower self esteem & doubt myself. ha! As I read this, it looks like I do have pride,& arrogance….but, you, Bill know me & I just don’t puff myself up very often. I will admit it does come out if I’m having a disagreement with my hubby & I want to be right, even if I know I’m not, ha! So I guess God just reminded me that I do have pride. Blah.
You’re right Jan, I do know you and you are one of the least prideful people I know. Being right isn’t always a sign, but when you are arguing with Michael then it is. LOL Just kidding. us guys need to stick together.
I always find it rather enlightening when several people write about the same topic without any collaboration. I also just wrote an article about pride. I think maybe God is sending us a message. I’ve struggled with both pride and a lack of self esteem. It seems though the closer I draw to God the more I pull away from both those extremes and find more balance in my life. Enjoyed your post.
I think many struggle with pride vs. self-esteem. It is an easy trap to get into.