Proverbs 16:18

What is it that drives us on so relentlessly? Are you ready? Take a deep breath and allow yourself to tolerate the one-word answer: PRIDE.

We work and push and strive so we can prove we are worthy...we are the best...we deserve top honours. And the hidden message: I can gain righteousness all on my own, by my own effort, ingenuity, and energy. And because I can, I must!

And why is this heretical? Because ultimately this philosophy says:

1.I really don't need divine righteousness. (After all, God helps those who help themselves, right?)

2.I will find lasting joy in my own achievement. This will bring me ultimate satisfaction.

Both are dead-end roads found on Fantasy Island.

 

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way(Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.All rights reserved. Used by permission.