Week 5 Bible Study: PRIDE.

Week 5 Bible study was about PRIDE.

Pride is described as, "quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance; arrogance; vanity; conceit; self-admiration; haughtiness."

Pride is also one of the seven deadly sins along with covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.

Pride vs. Humility

Pride:
- focuses on other's faults
- is self-righteous/over critical
- looks at their life through a telescope and other's through a microscope
- looks down on others who aren't as 'spiritual as they are'
- thinks everyone is privileged to have them around

Humility:
- realizes how far they fall short
- compassionate and forgiving
- looks for the best in others
- seeks to win people, not arguments
- realizes only God knows a person's true motives
- leaves judgment of heart in God's hands
- thinks they don't deserve opportunities, God gives them

We asked a question- what is the difference between self-esteem and excessive pride?

Everyone shared some Bible verses and quotes about Pride so we thought we would share them below. We found that 'pride' is mentioned 47 times in the KJV, humble is mentioned 56 times in the KJV, and boast is mentioned 37 times. We thought that meant controlling our pride and working on a humble spirit was pretty important! Here are some verses we found and discussed:

Proverbs 16:18- "Pride precedes destruction; an arrogant spirit gives way to a nasty fall." (Voice)

Proverbs 8:13- "If you respect the Eternal, you will grow to despise evil. I despise wretched, vile talk and ways of pride and arrogance." (Voice)

Proverbs 13:10- "Arrogance only produces arguments, but wisdom accompanies those well advised." (Voice)

Proverbs 29:23- A person’s pride brings him down, but one of humble spirit has a firm hold on honor and respect." (Voice)

James 4:1-12- "Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia? 2 You crave something that you do not possess, so you murder to get it. You desire the things you cannot earn, so you sue others and fight for what you want. You do not have because you have chosen not to ask. And when you do ask, you still do not get what you want because your motives are all wrong—because you continually focus on self-indulgence. You are adulterers. Don’t you know that making friends with this corrupt world order is open aggression toward God? So anyone who aligns with this bogus world system is declaring war against the one true God. Do you think it is empty rhetoric when the Scriptures say, “The spirit that lives in us is addicted to envy and jealousy”? You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture say, God opposes the proud but He pours out grace on the humble.[b]So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure. Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands; you have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart, because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other. Now is the time to lament, to grieve, and to cry. Dissolve your laughter into sobbing, and exchange your joy for depression.  Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground, in humility before the Lord; and He will lift your head so you can stand tall. My brothers and sisters, do not assault each other with criticism. If you decide your job is to accuse and judge another believer, then you are a self-appointed critic and judge of the law; if so, then you are no longer a doer of the law and subject to its rule; you stand over it as a judge. Know this—there is One who stands supreme as Judge and Lawgiver. He alone is able to save and to destroy, so who are you to step in and try to judge another? (Voice)

Proverbs 16:19- "It is better to be humble and live among the poor, than to divide up stolen property with the proud." (Voice)

Proverbs 11:2- "When pride comes, shame is not far behind, but wisdom accompanies those who are humble." (Voice)

Proverbs 18:12- "A proud heart precedes destruction, and before honor is humility." (Voice)

Isaiah 2:12- "The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has identified a time for assault against the arrogant and proud, against all who think they’re so indomitable. They will be humbled."  (Voice)

Isaiah 23:9- The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has determined, Tyre should be destroyed, wrecked, and disgrace To spoil the foolish arrogance of all glory and to show how insignificant earthly honors are." (Voice)

Jeremiah 9:23-24- "Let not the wise boast in their wisdom, nor the mighty in their strength, nor the rich in their wealth. 24 Whoever boasts must boast in this: that he understands and knows Me.[a] Indeed, I am the Eternal One who acts faithfully and exercises justice and righteousness on earth. These are the things that delight Me." (Voice)

Philippians 2:3-4-  "If you find any comfort from being in the Anointed, if His love brings you some encouragement, if you experience true companionship with the Spirit, if His tenderness and mercy fill your heart; then, brothers and sisters, 2 here is one thing that would complete my joy—come together as one in mind and spirit and purpose, sharing in the same love. 3 Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. 4 Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first." (Voice)

Proverbs 16:5- "He abhors arrogant people. Make no mistake about it! They will be punished!" (Voice)

Proverbs 25:27- "Eating too much honey is not good for you, nor is it good to seek one honor after another." (Voice)

Proverbs 26:12- "Have you seen a person who is wise in his own sight? Know that there is more hope for a fool than for him" (Voice)

Proverbs 27:2- "Let someone else praise you; compliments are always sweeter from a stranger’s lips than from your own." (Voice)

Proverbs 29:23- "A person’s pride brings him down, but one of humble spirit has a firm hold on honor and respect." (Voice)

Psalms 10:2-4- "Mean and haughty people hunt down the poor. May they get caught up in their own wicked schemes. For the wicked celebrates the evil cravings of his hear, as the greedy curses and rejects the Eternal. The arrogance of the wicked one keeps him from seeking the True God. He truly thinks, “There is no God.”" 

Psalms 138:6- "Although He is greatest of all, He is attentive to the needy
    and keeps His distance from the proud and pompous." (Voice)

Romans 12:3- "Because of the grace allotted to me, I can respectfully tell you not to think of yourselves as being more important than you are; devote your minds to sound judgment since God has assigned to each of us a measure of faith." (Voice)

Romans 12:16- "Work toward unity, and live in harmony with one another. Avoid thinking you are better than others or wiser than the rest; instead, embrace common people and ordinary tasks." (Voice)

1 Corinthians 13:1-4-  What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. 2 What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing. 3 I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts. Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love;" (Voice)

Daniel 5:20- " But there came a point when his heart was so proud and his spirit so haughty that he acted arrogantly; he lost his royal throne and was stripped of his royal honors." (Voice)

Galatians 6:1-4- "My spiritual brothers and sisters, if one of our faithful has fallen into a trap and is snared by sin, don’t stand idle and watch his demise. Gently restore him, being careful not to step into your own snare. 2 Shoulder each other’s burdens, and then you will live as the law of the Anointed teaches us. 3 Don’t take this opportunity to think you are better than those who slip because you aren’t; then you become the fool and deceive even yourself. 4 Examine your own works so that if you are proud, it will be because of your own accomplishments and not someone else’s." (Voice)

Some quotes we found pertaining to pride were:

- Happy people don't go through life collecting recognition. They go through life giving it away.
- You learn nothing from life if you think you are right all of the time.
- Humility is the greatest quality a man can have. Arrogance is undoubtedly the worst.
- Arrogance requires advertising. Confidence speaks for itself.
- Humility isn't denying your strengths. It is being honest about your weaknesses.

We talked about how this can apply to our relationships. We can be proud of our strengths- but we have to be mindful of the fact that we do have weaknesses- they make us human.

- There is nothing noble about about being superior to your fellow man. True nobility is being superior to your former self.
- Pride is concerned with WHO is right. Humility is concerned with WHAT is right.
- Pride will always be the longest distance between two people.

Megan asked a few questions that she found HERE:

You can give, you can help, you can read to disabled kids, you can do the kindest acts, but do you do it with pride? Do you do it to be the man? Do you do it to be seen as nice? Even though you conceal it do you hope people see you?

Do you look down upon others? If you did would you admit that you struggle with looking down upon others? Is everything and everyone a competition to you?

Do you think that you are better than others or entitled to more than others because of how smart you, how you look, what you own, how much you make, your achievements, etc.

We can struggle with pride in so many different ways and never notice it. Do you always want to be right? Do you defend the Bible with love or do you just do it to win a debate? Would you be quick to admit that you’re wrong?

- “For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” C.S. Lewis

- “Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.” Andrew Murray

- "Making mistakes is better than faking perfections.”



What a HUMBLE WIFE looks like (We found this on Pinterest-- Joypursued.com)

1. Recognize that different does mean better. We can't view ourselves as 'better than our spouse' because of differing strengths. Our differences exist to help support and love each other.
2. Submit to your husband's leadership. Submission in a marriage looks like: not needing to be right all of the time, not arguing over matters of opinion, accepting husband's decision even when you disagree (as long as it isn't sinful or unlawful.)
3. Serve your husband. Meet his basic needs, show him respect, show you care about his well-being, encourage spiritual growth.
4. Admit your mistakes/ask for forgiveness
5. Forgive your husband. Don't lecture him and forgive him when he doesn't love you like you think he should.
6. Adopt a gentle spirit. Truth without love is harshness. 


"Pride stops us from letting go. We want to fight, we want to get even, we want to give comeback insults, we don’t want to forgive our spouse, we don’t want to walk up to a person and apologize. We don’t want to look like a sucker. We don’t like the feeling of being the bigger man/woman. Are you harboring bitterness and resentment towards someone? This is all because of pride. The best thing to do is always apologize even if you feel like it is not your fault." (LINK)

"Pride is one of those sins that we throw under the rug. We consider homosexuality evil, murder evil, but when it comes to pride we overlook it. We have forgotten that it was the sin of pride that got Satan kicked out of Heaven. We have forgotten that God says He hates a proud heart" 

Java & Journaling.

While searching through Pinterest, I saw a lot of journaling ideas-- many having to do with becoming a better person, searching for God, falling in love with God all over again. I feel like my soul needs this. Time spent with my coffee and my Creator-- time with java and journaling.

The first question I found on 'A Journey of Faith and Mental Wellness' that peaked my interest was:

Is it hard to accept God's grace? Write 5 Bible verses about His forgiveness. 

The saying is true. We are our own worst critics- so I do believe that it is extremely hard to accept God's grace. I feel like I've asked for forgiveness about certain sins so many times and I still feel weighed down and burdened by them. I still don't feel like asking for forgiveness is enough. I still don't feel like I've prayed hard enough, weeped long enough....

It's a never ending battle.

I'm grateful for forgiveness. I'm thankful for mercy and grace. But for some reason I still feel a tremendous amount of weight because of these sins.

It's hard to accept God's grace-- because sometimes I just don't understand it. I love it. I cherish it. But I feel like there's a loophole somewhere some days, I think-- 'There's no way it's this simple! Just say sorry and change your ways.. and He just forgives. Just like that.'

Then I think about my children and how they make mistakes. Not huge ones like I've made in my life, but spilling a drink all over the brand new couch or breaking my favorite picture frame. I forgive them immediately. And since God is our Father-- I imagine He probably works in the same fashion.

- Daniel chapter 9 says- " Lord God, You are great and awesome! You are always faithful to the covenant You made with us. Your unfailing love extends to all who love You and keep Your commandments. But we have sinned and wronged You. We have acted wickedly in our rebellion, going so far as to disregard Your commandments and regulations. We have ignored the message given through Your servants, the prophets, who spoke on Your behalf to our kings, princes, ancestors, indeed every last person of the land. O Lord, You always do what is right. It is Your due, but we deserve nothing this day but public and open shame. The people of Judah, Jerusalem—indeed of all Israel, those who are in neighboring regions and those who are in the farthest reaches, driven into exile by You for all the treacherous acts they committed against You—we all deserve nothing but shame. Eternal One, public and open shame is our due, for we have sinned against You, all of us, our kings, princes, and ancestors. But You, O Lord our God, still show us compassion and forgiveness even though we have openly rebelled against You (The Voice) 

We have sinned. We have wronged You.

I've sinned. I've wronged You.

We have acted wickedly. We have been rebellious.
I have acted wickedly. I have been rebellious.

BUT. You Lord still show us compassion and forgiveness.

You Lord still show me compassion and forgiveness.

- Psalms 103:11-14 says, "Measure how high heaven is above the earth; God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.

12 You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them.
    As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.
13 An earthly father expresses love for his children;
    it is no different with our heavenly Father;
The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.
14 For He knows what we are made of;
    He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust." (The Voice)

He knows that we are human. He understands the tugs of sin... and He is so forgiving. As far as the east is from the west, He throws our sins away there.

- 1 John 1:9 says, "But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done."

The first step is owning up to our sins. 

Confess them.
Feel sorrow for them.

The Bible says He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE THEM.

All we have to do is own up to it. Admit them. Confess them. Feel true sorrow for them. 

- Colossians 1:13-14 says, "You have rescued us from dark powers and brought us safely into the kingdom of Your Son, whom You love and in whom we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins [through His blood]"

You have rescued us from dark powers. 

This just keeps echoing in my mind.

Through repentance, through forgiveness. He rescued us. We just have to believe it.

- Hebrews 10:17- I will erase their sins and wicked acts out of My memory

    as though they had never existed

He removes them from His memory.

Well, that's all I need to read right there.
He erases them.
Removes them.
Forgets them.

God's grace is hard for me to accept because I don't understand it some days. Sometimes I feel like it's 'too easy...' but I am beyond grateful that He still loves me and sees through all my screw ups. 

"If You can hold the stars in place, You can hold my heart the same/ Whenever I fall away, whenever I start to break... so here I am lifting up my heart to the One who holds the stars."

If He can keep the planets in orbit...
He has the power to give His grace and forgiveness.

We just have to accept it.

 

These Seven Things: Stirring Up Trouble!

Proverbs 6:16-19 states, "Take note, there are six things the Eternal hates; no, make itseven He abhors: Eyes that look down on others, a tongue that can’t be trusted, hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that conceives evil plans, feet that sprint toward evil, A false witness who breathes out lies, and anyone who stirs up trouble among the faithful." (The Voice)

We discussed lying earlier this week. If you are interested in checking out that blog it is HERE. 

Today, we will be talking about: anyone who stirs up trouble among the faithful.

You all know I love to read different versions of the Bible because I feel like they all give different perspectives and they come together to create an understandable picture of what God is trying to tell us.

Proverbs 6:19-  ".... ,a witness who tells one lie after another,and someone who stirs up trouble among friends." (GNT)

Proverbs 6:19- "...a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community." (NIVUK)

Proverbs 6:19- "...a liar, that is, a false witness; and he who soweth discord among brothers, or among friends.)" (WYC)

Someone who stirs up trouble among friends.

A person who stirs up conflict in the community.
He who sows discord among friends.

This breaks God's heart.

Proverbs Chapter 6.

Earlier in Proverbs chapter 6, the Bible says:

Someone who struts about taking advantage of others
Someone who deceives others
Someone who cheats people
Someone who is consistently pointing a finger at others
Someone who stirs up trouble everywhere

This person is to be avoided.
This person will be destroyed, suddenly.
Their lives will be ruined beyond repair.

When I read through this, the only thing I can think of is:

God, help us to not be the kind of person that is constantly stirring up trouble in our lives or the lives of others. Help us to not be someone that needs to be avoided. Help us to not destroy our lives or the lives of others. HELP US.

I don't want to be the person in Proverbs 6 that God warns us to avoid. It literally makes me sick to my stomach to think about. A person that doesn't improve people's lives-- but tears them down.

James Chapter 4.

In James chapter 4, James writes about selfishness, greed, and discord.

He writes:

"Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. You want things, but you don’t get them. So you kill and are jealous of others. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God. Or when you ask, you don’t receive anything, because the reason you ask is wrong. You only want to use it for your own pleasure.... "

Everything described in Proverbs 6:16-19 is rooted in one thing: a heart issue.

Lying stems from our heart.
Pride stems from our heart.
Murder stems from our heart.
Evil stems from our heart.
Stirring up trouble stems from our heart.

James asks the question: Do you know where your fighting and starting arguments come from???

And then he answers that question for us.

It comes from our selfish desires.
From the war taking place within us.
From the jealousy that oozes out of our heart.
From wanting our own way.
From wanting what isn't ours.

This is where arguments stem from--- from our hearts not being aligned with God's Word and His Will. From our hearts being aligned with OUR wants and OUR desires.

A great quote that I try to always remember is this:

"There are some people who always seem angry and continuously look for conflict. Walk away; the battle they are fighting isn't with you, it is with themselves."

We fight a war inside of us-- a battle of human nature vs. God.

And when we are not submissive. When we slack on our prayer life, our worship life, our Bible reading-- the human nature has a clear path to our heart. It makes it's way in and starts to stir trouble within our soul which in turn causes us to stir trouble in other areas of our lives.

Have you ever said to yourself, 'I need to keep my mouth shut about this situation,' but a few moments later, words are spewing out of your mouth that you know you are going to regret.....

We must be cautious to submit our thoughts, words, and actions to Jesus Christ. Ask Him to guard our mouths, guard our thoughts.. He will do it! We just have to want it bad enough. 

Busybodies.

The Bible gives a great word for someone who stirs up trouble. He calls them 'busybodies.'

According to the dictionary, a 'busybody' is described as: a meddling or prying person. A mischief maker. A trouble maker. An interferer.

In 1 Peter 4, Peter tells us that we will face trials and sufferings because we live in Christ. He tells us that if we experience pain and suffering in the name of Christ, we should consider ourselves happy because Christ also suffered. HOWEVER, Peter warns us that we should NOT be happy to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a busybody. This is something to be ashamed of. 

Ashamed. A busybody is put in the same category as a murderer, thief, and evildoer....

Jesus, help us.

Instead of being a busybody and an evildoer- Peter says:

"Love each other steadily and unselfishly, because love makes up for many faults. Show hospitality to each other without complaint. Use whatever gift you’ve received for the good of one another so that you can show yourselves to be good stewards of God’s grace in all its varieties. If you’re called upon to talk, speak as though God put the words in your mouth; if you’re called upon to serve others, serve as though you had the strength of God behind you. In these ways, God may be glorified in all you do through Jesus the Anointed..."

Love each other steadily. 

Love each other unselfishly.
Love covers all sins.
Show hospitality to others-- without complaining.
Use our gifts for the good of others.
Speak as though God put the words in our mouths.
Serve as though had we have the strength of God in us.
Glorify God in everything we do.


GLORIFY GOD IN ALL WE DO.

Being a busy body... stirring up trouble.. talking about others... gossiping... lying... spreading rumors...

None of this glorifies God.

In Matthew 5, Matthew writes, "Blessed are the peacemakers..."

God, help us to shift ours hearts. Help us to realize the power in our words and help us to see when we are not glorifying You. Help us to be peacemakers, not troublemakers. Help us to be loving to everybody, not busybodies. Let us use our time to praise You.. to do good in Your name.. We love You Jesus!