Is There Pride In Any Area Of My Life?
BRD REFLECTIONS
(Koh Geok Cheng, Zone 10 Core Team Member, Small Group Ministry)
READ:
OBSERVE:
In Esther 1, King Ahasuerus displayed his wealth, splendour and glory for 180 days, then subsequently gave a lavish banquet that lasted 7 days. He also ordered his servants to bring Queen Vashti wearing her royal crown before him and his guests. The Queen refused to obey and that led to the furious King removing her from her position.
There was no mention of God. The King was full of pride, he showed off and attributed all his wealth, power and even his Queen to his own splendour and glory.
There was also no mention of Queen Vashti fearing God. However, she showed courage to disobey her husband which showed that she didn’t compromise her value as a person to be reduced to an object of display. If she obeyed, she would be degraded and disrespected. If she disobeyed, she risked losing her position and her life.
APPLY:
Pride can lead to sin and sin to destruction. King Ahasuerus’ pride led him to sins and foolish acts that destroyed his marriage with Queen Vashti. Is there pride in any area of my life? What am I doing about it before it grows into sin and leads to destruction of relationships and lives?
Courage to stand firm and not compromise in the face of challenging circumstances is important. Do I have the courage to hold on to my beliefs and not compromise even if it means running the risk of losing all that I have, my position and my life?
Though there was no mention of God in Esther 1, God had a hand in it, evil would be destroyed and God would use such circumstances to bring good to save lives as we will see in later chapters of Esther.
DO:
I will do daily examen to see if there is any pride in me and my responses, and to confess and repent of my sins. I need to be thankful for God’s grace that He will forgive me when I turn to Him in repentance.
I will seek to walk in God’s ways through learning more about His Word and being sensitive to His Holy Spirit’s presence in my life. I will choose to honour God in my ways, and have courage to stand firm on my faith and not compromise them to please and fear man.
PRAY:
Dear Father God, thank You for Your love and grace that we who are filthy rags can be made clean by grace through Jesus. Forgive me for having so much pride in me. Open my eyes to see areas of pride in me as You reveal, and be repentant and willing to change my ways. May I have courage to stand firm on Your truths and make choices that honour You and not fear man. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
