This is a tough one because I am a proud man. I hate to admit it but I am. A pastor can easily succumb to pride. Moral pride because we are good compare to a normal person. We pray, we read our Bible, we memorize scriptures – like the Pharisees. Also theological pride – feeling we have it all right while others have it all wrong – that my theology is superior to others. Pride is a tough thing to beat and I can’t beat it on my own.

I was talking to a pastor who was struggling with his call – not that he was not sure if God called Him to ministry but when he sees his friends – all successful in their field and accumulating wealth he wonders what if I did not enter ministry, I might be successful. Funny thing is I think of the same things.

Trying to prove something, trying to show people how I have achieved, being so annoyed if people don’t respond to the message of the gospel, trying to show the world how big my church is – things that can fill your head if not guarded. How proud of me to think that it is my ability and my own doing. That is why when faced with challenges that are beyond me – it reminds me of the gospel. It reminds me of my inability and my insufficiency. It reminds me of God’s grace. It reminds me of humility.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble is so true. Lord teach me to be humble. To trust and abide in you fully. To rely in you and not my own ability. I need your grace.