Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

The warning to pursue humility and conquer pride is repeated probably at least a hundred times in Scripture. It is a huge deal to God. I work at it a lot, and I constantly evaluate my actions, words, thoughts, and especially my motives for pride. One of the things about pride is that it is very subtle and hard to detect in ourselves. There are certain events that, if they happen to me, I pay close attention to myself and how I react as a test to help me see the pride in my heart. I will journal about the circumstances and details of the event to attempt to see myself and my character accurately.

One of the things that happens to me regularly is that I will get criticism and resistance against a leadership decision I make or teaching that I give. It is not usually a big thing, but it definitely requires some discussion and negotiation on my part. As I think about the situation later and write about it I ask the question, “how did I do?”

Another situation is when I fail to accomplish a goal. Failure is a real pride aggravator, and if pride is hiding in my heart failure will bring it right to the top.

Another situation is when I don’t get the recognition that I think I deserve. That will tend to go around in my head for days until I conqueror it.

I truly want to be humble in character and attitude because I know it is important to God and also because I value it in others and I want humility in my own life.

I pray and ask God daily to help me conqueror pride in my life and to show me when I become prideful.