Falling Down

Imagine, if you will, walking down a neighborhood street at dusk. You are enjoying the beautiful weather and the warm summer breeze. When, all of a sudden, SPLAT, you are flat on your face and you can feel the pavement digging into your knees. You dazedly wonder what caused you to trip, but mostly you are just embarrassed. Your friend asks you if you are okay and you respond, "My pride is hurt more than anything else."

That is what happened to me Wednesday night, and it really got me thinking about the pride cliche I used in the aftermath of my spill. Why do we use that phrase? More to the point, why do we use that phrase as a bad thing?

O that he would rid you from this iniquity and abomination. And, O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!    Jacob 2:16

A prophet of God warned us that pride can destroy our souls! If you knew a monster was coming to your home to destroy the souls of your family, what would you do to stop it? If it were my family I would utilize every defense and weapon I could to stop it. I would take my family and get away as fast as I could. Essentially I would do everything in my power to escape the terrible fate that comes with the monster.

Pride really is that monster that is coming to destroy our souls if we let it. If we want our souls to be safe we need to set up defenses, and obtain weapons that we can fight it with. Because we are all human, we can never defeat pride alone. We need the help of our Savior Jesus Christ to help us in this battle. But as we draw nearer unto Him, we will be able to fight the monster of pride and be successful at keeping him at bay. A prophet of God discussed pride in an address given in 1989, read it to find out what defenses and weapons work best in this fight against pride. Beware of Pride by Ezra Taft Benson

So, the next time your pride gets hurt, celebrate, because you are winning the fight.