MY WAY IS THE RIGHT WAY, I KNOW IT!
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits (Proverbs 16:2 New King James Version).
Deep inside, I have this need to always be right. My husband can attest to this. I don’t often like to admit when I am wrong, and I’m not yet adept at waving the white flag of surrender. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Many of us struggle with always having to be “right.” We aren’t comfortable when we have to admit we were wrong, or we went about things in a direction opposite our destination. Admitting we are wrong opens us up and leaves us vulnerable; it can make us feel subject to rejection and ridicule. God is kindly teaching me to come down from my high horse and walk alongside it instead of trying to be the high and mighty rider I sometimes think I am. The wonderful thing is when God teaches lessons He is a gentle and persistent teacher, not moving forward until He is quite sure the lesson has been learned.
How many of us really know when we demand that we are in the right all the time, we are being stubbornly prideful? I didn’t, until God sweetly revealed this scripture. It’s one thing to skim over it while reading, but it’s something completely different when it jumps out from the page and resonates within the heart. How can we sit before a holy, omnipotent and righteous God and justify always being right? To always imply we do no wrong; that the way we do things is the way others should do things; that our lifestyle and choices should be the lifestyle and choice of others, is not the way to be an effective, salty and bright witness for Jesus. God will not allow us to sit before Him and tell Him all the reasons why we are right, He will sweetly point out we are hiding behind the sin of pride, pricking our spirits to confession and repentance. For some of us, this may take years; for others, it could be instantaneous. That piece of humble pie we are served is not something we can just sample and move on from, it’s a dish we need to eat all of and never forget the taste.
On this journey with the Lord, it’s ok to admit when we are wrong, it’s ok to be humble, and it’s ok to not always be right! God searches our hearts, He weighs our spirits, He knows when we are right and He knows when we are wrong. He will affirm us when we are in the right; and He will also reveal when we are in the wrong – the key is to know when to get off the horse and chew the distasteful piece of pie. By humbling ourselves when we are wrong, we open doors for God to move and change our hearts and minds to be more in line with His.
Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, You are so awesome and wonderful! Your word says that “when pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom. ~Proverbs 11:2; may we remain humble and shameless, may we not become so blinded by our pride that we believe we are always in the right; let us not bring shame to Your blessed and holy name. Father, reveal to us the sins of pride and self-righteousness; forgive us these sins and show us how to lead humble lives. Father, may we become more and more like Jesus every day, may we be so imbedded in You that You are revealed in all that we do and to all that we meet. We love You and proclaim Your greatness and faithfulness. We give You all glory and honor and may Your will be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Today’s Attitude of Worship: If you are not right about something, don’t argue. Admit you are wrong, ask for forgiveness, learn from this experience and move on. Keep a clean heart before God and man.
Additional Scriptures: Proverbs 13:10; Isaiah 25:10-12; Matthew 12:9-14
“Walking humbly, you are more of a man than you were when you walked proudly” (Henry Ward Beecher).
Shalom,
Prudence