Out of all the issues that are in the church today, what is the common problem with everything that is wrong.
Pride!
If there is no pride in what we do and everything is motivate by humility, does what or how we do things matter. So is the issue our actions, or the motivation behind our actions.
I would even go so far to say that if pride is absolved, then a church service could be a true loving act of love in the presence of our Creator. One may be considered a teacher, leader, or any kind of authority realizing that he/she is completely subject to our King and nothing of themself.
We all often find fault in what goes on within the church and among God’s people, but is pride the only real problem?. If so then pride is what we need to attack and expose? It is the enemy’s devise of destruction. It is what corrupts anything we do. In Romans 14:14 Paul says that nothing is unclean in and of itself so it is not the actions that need to be addressed, but the intent behind the actions.
So I suggest pride is the downfall of the Church. Pride was the corruption of the Jewish leadership i.e Pharisees, Sadducees, etc. Pride was the reason Israel broke its covenant with God time and time again. Pride is the reason the people wanted a building to make a name for themselves in Genesis 11. Pride is the reason Eve chose to disobey. Pride is the reason it is so hard for me to be obedient in my life.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis spells out pride for what it really is. I found a site that quotes chapter 8, The Great Sin, of part 3 in the book here. Basically, Lewis points out that pride is the sin of Satan, and all other sins derive from pride.
What do you think?
