Let Pride Go

"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding" (Prov. 23:23). It costs something to learn the real truth of God, and most people simply do not want to pay that price. What it costs is letting go of your own opinions and traditions, neither of which have ever produced any true deliverance or divine joy in the life of anyone. But most people would rather hold to the pride of keeping what they already think to be true rather than to humble themselves and receive actual truth and be blessed by God for doing so. I really don’t get it. But that reminds me of a conversation I had with my father a number of years ago. We were talking about how we just didn’t understand what goes into someone actually being a homosexual. We just didn’t get it, and our final conclusion was that we were glad that we didn’t understand it, because to understand how that works would mean that we would have to be in that condition. On the same topic, a brother in the Lord that I know was once confronted by an old friend of his, who told him he was a homosexual. He had never known this about the man, and his innocent and sensible response was, “Why wouldn’t you want a woman?” He just couldn’t understand why this man would want to be with a man sexually. By the same token I don’t get why someone wouldn’t want sound, wholesome truth that comes from heaven and feeds the soul, rather than empty religious rhetoric that produces nothing good at all in the heart. I’m also glad that I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t rather have the peace of being blessed with loving the truth and abiding therein. There are a few things however that I do understand. One of them is the following proverb which tells us something about how to come to the knowledge of the truth: “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” (Prov. 1:5). And I love this one as well: “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Prov. 9:8,9).

The problem with so many folks is that their pride wants them to think they are the source of all wisdom, and they allow themselves to be guided by that pride rather than by the holy Ghost that makes one humble when they are led by it (Jn. 16:13; Rom. 8:14). That is not the way I came up in Christ, and it is certainly not the way that I have attained unto the truth that God has allowed me to see and understand. Someone who allows themselves to be open and humble before God and men is going to learn of God and be blessed, even as Jesus plainly declared: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Mat. 11:29). If HE is meek and lowly of heart, how much more must we be the same? Jesus also told us that if we do not “become as little children, [we] shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat. 18:3). My friend, little children do NOT have these ridiculous pride issues that keep people from acknowledging pure, fully confirmed truth when it is presented to them. The apostle Paul, who acquired greater revelation knowledge than anyone, certainly demonstrated the willingness to let go of what HE thought to be true so that he could find what was REALLY true: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philip. 3:7,8). But sadly I see many, both in person and online, who would rather try foolishly to reprove evident, irrefutable truth than to be blessed by humbling themselves and receiving it. Well, as I said before, I really don’t get that, but I DO get the truth, and I do get the love and peace that fills my heart and soul as a result of loving the truth. I think I’ll stick with that, as I’m a man who believes in results. Amen