The Pride Monster & Sister Anderson

Imagine, if you will, getting dressed and ready for the day. You don't have a lot of time to work on your appearance. You are clean and the clothes you are wearing are clean and (relatively) wrinkle free. Your hair is troubling you though. It is one of those proverbial "bad hair days" and you are about ready to make the decision to lop it all off. You are staring critically at yourself in the mirror when your roommate walks in and says "you look nice today." 

Suddenly your mind is full of negative thoughts and annoyed feelings. You don't like it when someone disagrees with you, even if they don't know their doing it. You're getting yourself worked up into a state of grumpiness when you remember what you were taught when you were young. Never refuse a compliment, it's rude. So you swallow your pride and say, "Thanks."

There he is again, the pride monster rearing his ugly head. I have to admit, that the instance described above has happened to me more than just once. Many times throughout my life I have struggled to accept compliments given to me. Then I watched a movie that had the quote below in it,

“We ask ourselves, ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’

“Actually, who are you not to be? YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

“It's not just in some of us; it's in EVERYONE. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

“As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." –Marianne Williamson (emphasis added)

I love this because it reminds me WHO I AM. I am a child of God and He wants me to know that as well. When I get those feelings of inadequacy I know they are not coming from Him. They are coming from the adversary, the father of lies who wants me to hide my light under a bushel. He encourages my pride and makes me feel less than I am.


The fight with the pride monster is ongoing, but as we remember our Divine Nature, we can win.