Love is NOT Proud

Last night, God blessed me by making the sermon in Refuge about love, and the second point was mostly about pride. ((I had a pretty bad case of writer's block)).

So, love is not proud. What is pride? In some versions of verse 7, it says, "Love is not puffed up". That makes me think of a puffer fish. When it gets threatened, it puffs up and is all spikey. ANYWAY, it also reminds me of when people "get big heads" because they're...PROUD. Pride is basically thinking too much of yourself/your accomplishments.

Why is this bad? Well, pertaining to love, when you get too prideful about the relationship you're in, or what you've accomplished to make the relationship work, you're probably too blinded to see that the relationship is only "working" from your standpoint. You see the other person as this prize that you've attained yourself, rather than a blessing from God.

Check out Cain: ((Genesis 4:3-12)). What happened here? Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. They both presented a sacrifice to God, but God only regarded Abel's sacrifice. Now, before you start being "human" and saying, "Well, God. That's not fair. Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. He only had vegetables to give You." Guess what? God is fair. God is just. He knows what He's doing. What did He say in verse 7? "If you do well, won't you be accepted? If you don't do well, sin lies at the door, and that's your desire and who you serve."

The thing is: neither brother was perfect. That's why they were offering sacrifices. God didn't favor Abel. ((He doesn't favor ANYONE, for that matter. Romans 2:11)). The point was, Abel's heart was in the right place. He wasn't just looking for God's approval. He was repentant, and that made His sacrifice acceptable to God. Cain's sacrifice was, not only, VEGETABLES but he wasn't repentant((review verse 7)). God called him out in his sin, and what did he do? He went out into the field and he murdered his brother. ((A perfect example of pride, jealousy, and boastfulness)).

Last night, Rev. Eppling said that when you become so focused on yourself that you can't handle constructive criticism from someone who loves you, something is wrong. Our love for others is a direct reflection of our salvation. ((I John 3:13-14))

Pride can also ruin relationships when you get SO full of yourself that you become a "player". ((definition: someone who likes to cheat on his/her significant other)) Now, this is common in dating relationships and marriage relationships, unfortunately. In marriage, it's called "adultery"((Exodus 20:14)). Dr. Brunson did a sermon on this once. When you're inattentive to your spouse, then they try to find that recognition in someone else, just to "make sure" that they're still attractive/there's nothing wrong with them. Now, two wrongs do NOT make a right, but that's what happens. You're not too good for anyone.

How do you prevent this? Humble yourself. It has to be a constant thing. It's so easy for me to be like, "Holy cow. I am SO much better than...","I definitely deserve more than...", etc. But that's not Christlike, and that's not how I'm supposed to act as a bond-servant of Christ. ((HINT: That's not how you're supposed to act either. ;) ))

Now, how to humble yourself? Ask God. Be prepared, because, trust me. Being humbled is not fun. I am constantly reminded to be humble because I manage to trip over nothing in front of large crowds of people. The thing is, I'm used to it. And the funny thing is...it's okay. At

first...yeah, it's embarrassing. Takes you off your high horse, for sure. Let's explain that in a "revelation-y" way. You're on a horse, okay? High above the rest of the earth. You think you have it good, but then the horse(the devil) bucks you off. You're on the ground. You're in pain, but holy cow. The ground is gorgeous. There are pretty flowers and stuff that you couldn't see when you were on the horse.

That's how pride is. You think that you have it all, when you really have nothing. When God brings you "down" and humbles you, you see everything He had waiting for you. So don't be stupid and think that the world revolves around you, because you've just disillusioned yourself into thinking that you're better than God. ((See blog on boasting: God/Satan))