What does the pit you are digging look like?
For many of us, it's pride, a critical spirit, and isolation. Christians are good at masking all this while, at the same time, struggling to address these issues in our own lives with Christ-centered integrity. As a result, various areas of our lives are affected such as marriage, family, relationships, church, school, work.
Our pride drives us to bring glory to ourselves. We think of ourselves as being above other people. Even in our outward expression of false humility, we inwardly love the praises we receive from people and are driven by our desire to receive more praise.
Pride expresses itself in other ways but is rooted from a sinful and selfish place within us. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of pride leading to destruction. Satan fell from heaven because his pride made him believe he was better than God (Isaiah 14:12-15). At the fall, Satan appealed to Adam and Eve's pride (Genesis 3:15). People's pride led them to build the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).
Over time, unchecked pride in our lives will lead to our fall.
Pride leads us to be critical of others. We look down on those who we perceive to not be doing as well as we are. On the other hand, if people appear to be doing better than us, we look for deficiencies so that we can criticize them. We cannot bear the thought of celebrating their success with them.
Bottom line, in the flesh, we naturally do not desire the best for those around us.
In Christian circles, we can conveniently use ministry as our scapegoat and justification to criticize people. We "snipe" at or around people.
Many of us use ministry to mask our pride and feed our egos. Although, outwardly, we give the appearance of serving Jesus wholeheartedly, there are times when our motivation to make a name for ourselves far outweighs our desire to share the Gospel and make disciples.
We make "prayer requests" or ask questions to expose someone else's shortcomings. "Sharing concerns" or asking people, "what do you think about ___________________?" become our passive-aggressive way to advertise something negative about someone else. What makes this wrong? Bad intent, bad attitude and gossip.
A critical spirit that expresses itself through gossip is symptomatic of a toxic and spiritually unhealthy person and a toxic and unhealthy church. These people and churches are bad witnesses, lifeless, hurting people, discouraging, and leaving many confused. Gossip and a critical spirit should not be part of any church or any believer's life.
Pride and a critical spirit lead to isolation, which is a dangerous place to be. We come to this place because of the way we feel about others or because of the way others feel about us. We isolate ourselves either by increasing physical distance or by distancing our hearts. Our greatest loneliness and feelings of isolation often happen when we are internally disconnected from the people we are physically closest to.
Satan loves it when Christians isolate themselves from other Christians. Isolation makes us an easy target for Satan. We have a great chance of falling to Satan when we isolate ourselves from other believers. When we are alone, we become our own barometer of what is right and wrong. We think we are hearing from God when we are really not. We naturally lean toward the path of least resistance over what is right. That is why we need to surround ourselves with people who will point us to Jesus.
Isolation has led pastors and church leaders to fall, politicians to lose positions of influence, friendships to end, marriages to fall apart, financial disaster, and poor mental and physical health.
On a daily basis, isolation has led many to feel disconnected from God, spiritually dead, frustrated, restless, jealous, broken in relationships, distrust, physical exhaustion, worry, dissatisfaction, etc.
Pride, critical spirit, or isolation may be your reality right now. We choose to stay there and tell ourselves: "I'll deal with it later." "I haven't been affected by consequences yet." "I can get away with it."
The Bible gives us several warnings about this:
Warning: The consequences of our pride will catch up to us. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" -Proverbs 16:18
Warning: Your critical spirit will tear up relationships. "If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." -Galatians 5:15
Warning: Isolating yourself makes you a fool because you will not be in right relationship with God. You will also separate yourself from people who will lift you up, give wise counsel, and keep you accountable. "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment." -Proverbs 18:1
Going back to the question asked at the top of this blog post, "What does the pit you are digging look like?"
Is your life taking on the consequences of pride, critical spirit, and isolation? Have you been digging this pit only to realize how lifeless and toxic it is? Although our circumstances may look different, we must acknowledge that sin is the source. Do you want out?
Jesus is the way out.
It is through Jesus that we live in the redeeming power of the Gospel. When we encounter God through Jesus, we experience salvation, a personal relationship with God, God's grace, life and inheritance.
As a result, we respond to God with humility, surrender, and obedience to Jesus. He will change us, grow us, and lead us to walk away from the pride that has the propensity to destroy us. We will not do this out of obligation or guilt but from a heart that has truly encountered God. This journey will not be easy but is worth it.
Repent and turn to Jesus.
You have battled with pride, a critical spirit, and isolation only to find yourself running into the same continuous cycle of struggles that come from our sin and our flesh. As long as we are in the flesh, we will continue to struggle with the flesh. We cannot overcome our struggles on our own.
For some, you will need to surrender your life to Jesus and meet Him. Only Jesus can save you and then lead you to overcome your struggle with pride, critical spirit, and isolation. Click here if you are interested in seeing how you can have a relationship with God through Jesus.
Repent: Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38-39
Admit we are sinners
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." Romans 3:23
Believe that Jesus died and paid the price for our sins
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
Declare with your mouth and believe with your heart
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
For others, you are a follower of Jesus and recognize your pride, critical spirit, and isolation. If this is you, you need to repent of these things and trust Jesus to lead you out.
"My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
James 5:19-20
Renew our mind.
This means that we daily remain in Christ through His Word, through prayer, and through accountability among believers. As we fill our minds with God's Word and as the Holy Spirit moves in our lives, we cannot help but work through our struggles and brokenness in ways that bring honor to Jesus.
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2
"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5
Be accountable.
Whatever we keep in secret will remain in secret. Whatever we do not bring out into the light will stay in darkness. When we continually wrestle with the same things over and over again, don't you think it is time to do this God's way?
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Confess our sins and struggles to believers who will help us grow toward Jesus. In this case, let us confess our pride, critical spirit, and isolation to believers who will help us grow in Christ--those who truly love and care about our lives and our walk with Jesus.
"...confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16
Commit to relationships with mature followers of Jesus who truly love you, know God's Word, and will be committed to pointing you to Jesus. Also, do not neglect meeting regularly with a church family that teaches the Bible, worships in Spirit and Truth, loves God and you, and desires to see you grow into being more like Jesus.
"...not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25
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