One of the seven deadly sins, one dictionary states, “Pride is defined as ‘an excessive love of one’s excellence’.
When I was about 30 years old, I was working in an office, and on the top floor of the building, known as the “Staff area”, was a full-sized snooker table and table tennis equipment. A colleague, my age and of Yorkshire descent, challenged me to a game of table tennis. As the score increased to my advantage, I noticed my opponent was getting increasingly angry every time he lost a point. When the score reached about 19:2 he was so red in the face that I had difficulty controlling my laughter. I lost the next two games partly because of overconfidence, but also because I had to stifle my amusement every time he lost a point.
In another game with a different opponent, with a reputation for being an excellent player, I was pleased to win the first set but lost the next two – again. This time, my opponent told me that he would often deliberately lose the first set so his opponent would be overconfident. That was certainly the case for me, and it taught me a valuable lesson.
I sense there may be a small difference between being confident and proud, and that may present a problem. If a request is made for help in the local church, what motivates an individual to volunteer? Is there someone else who would do the job better?
I have considered that one of the (many) responsibilities of elders in the church is to identify the gifts or talents of church members, but this may require a lot of time and even recommendations from others.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, in seeking to avoid the sin of pride, help us to know when and how to use our gift(s) for Your glory and the benefit of the local church. AMEN