Pride and the Slip-N-Slide

Yesterday I walked the tiny, narrow, hard-to-see line between taking up for myself and falling into pride. Pride is aptly named because it is a pit filled with demons behaving like a pride of lions. It will eat you alive, shredding all of the spiritual fruit off of your bones. It occurs to me that when I turn and look at something I have done for God, or, heaven forbid, stop to gauge how others are reacting to it, it de-materializes before my eyes. God does not share his glory with mere human beings. Anything I do for God must be done with a pure heart. I can't manufacture that purity, but I CAN call on God for cleansing and renewal of right motivation. "I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word." (Psalm 130:5) "People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives." (Proverbs 16:2) Yesterday I was walking dogs with my youngest, Jonathan, at the humane society. The animals there remind me of the human race, lots of variation in appearance and personality. Some follow willingly on the lead, others wander a bit, distracted by everything around them. Still others jump on us, happy to be alive, out of their kennels and in the presence of someone who will love them. There is the occasional dog that will fight the leash altogether, writhing on the ground, biting at it. Some will lay down resolutely as we tug and cajole. It's a picture of how we walk with God. May I learn to patiently heel! I don't want to miss out on the journey, or stick my nose in an ant bed while my heavenly Father lovingly steers me clear of such disaster. While we walked I silently prayed that my efforts that day would be fruitful, not frustrating. I felt perfectly comfortable believing God for that as He has not designed us for failure and defeat, but for productivity and prosperity along the lines of His perfect plans for our individual lives. "Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 May I walk confidently forward today, hand-in-hand with the Lord, knowing that, as my friend Emmanuel Chekwa once said, He will even annoint my failures as long as my heart is turned toward Him.