A wild bear, tiger, or lion is an amazing sight to see! For primitive mankind it was a necessity for us to conquer any possible threat. But very quickly we discovered that we liked the challenge and the imputed right, in our primitive culture, to parade our prowess in front of our tribe. We killed what we couldn't use, and tamed what we could!
Bit by bit through the years we have challenged and tamed every accessible part of nature and society. Everything has been up for grabs, and we have claimed it all. We are the conquerors!
We have even expanded aggressively into very inaccessible areas like outer space, the ocean's depths, DNA, particle physics, artificial intelligence, and Nascar (and boy did we mess that one up).
Everything that we humans take on, we are able to dominate and subjugate. We are even looking for extra-terrestrial aliens! I give you one guess what we will try if we ever find them! Tame them or kill them! We must rule over all creation. If only it stopped right there!
But unfortunately this mindset, the feeding of our pride from the carcass of the conquered can not easily be stopped. Our exterior may look mild-mannered but our inflated pride has become the most wild and fiercest of beasts, and nothing can stop us (we think).
"Wait a minute!" you might say. Our pride is a survival mechanism, and as such is a natural part of us. If everything natural is from God (and not to be ashamed of), then why shouldn't we fully accept it, as if it were as basic as eating or sex? Why do we make following our natural drive to be a sin'?
But pride is NOT a natural drive. When we are proud and inflate our importance or prowess to ourselves or others, we are LYING. We're not really that powerful, that awesome, are we? If a normal ego is 'identity' then pride is the embellished story about that identity that we try to sell to ourselves and others. And this story gets out of hand. It takes on a life of its own!
Think of someone in your past or present who acts like a jerk. Well, that's not really them, it's the mask that they hold up in front of them, and that mask is pride, and it's fake.
Now for the bad news-- We ALL have problems with pride. We ALL have tried on different masks to portray ourselves to others in a better light. And we lie to ourselves too. We look at our mask and admire how handsome or pretty we are. And it's all fake!
The beautiful child of God that is you is NOT the mask. Pride has nothing to do with who you really are. But it begins to make demands, just as if it were a parasite in your brain, driving you to do things to protect itself.
Inevitably, what happens when we've burned all of our bridges behind us? What happens when following the direction of that parasite Pride has destroyed our families, friendships, career? What happens when we end up in the gutter? The person that most would call a 'loser' is so very close to finding the biggest secret and greatest of treasures! Because that person is starting to understand how their pride has been a dictator over him or her, all the time that they thought they were in charge.
When this person turns to look for God, it is no longer with prideful thoughts but of raw survival. The prodigal son didn't want another inheritance or any status, he just wanted scraps from the table, knowing that his father was a kind man.
That is why most philosophies and religions talk about 'dying before you die'.
Dying before you die is killing off that beast of pride, which most people are too scared to do. There is no need to absolutely wreck everything and experience the destruction of everything and everyone in your life, before you finally lose that parasite of pride! It has to go, sometime. Now or later!
Why is it scary? Because getting rid of pride leaves you right back at square #1. You are responsible for everything that you say and do. No more excuses. No more justifications. No more lying to yourself or others about anything. You're back to being a naked baby, starting the day out fresh again. This is what it means to be 'born again'.
Because of your pride, you were living a fantasy of your own making. Welcome back to the real world!
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