Don't look down, lest you drown.

"In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him..." Psalm 10:4
"The pride of your heart has deceived you." Obadiah 1:3 
  
Pride is a funny thing. It's the thing no one wants to have, but everyone struggles with at one point or another. It's the thing that we find so repulsive in other people, but is so easy to become. While it may take a long time to think of someone we have known who was truly humble, it only takes a split second to think of someone we have known who was full of pride: The guy in high school that never gave anyone a chance to score or pass the ball during the game or in gym glass; the woman at work who refuses to change her ways because she's been there longer than anyone else; the person at church who gives their opinion without ever listening to someone else's because their's is the right one...and on and on and on. "Why can't they see how full of pride they are?! Why can't they tell they are not 'all that'?!" We vent to each other as we roll our eyes at proud responses, over confidant answers and narcissistic actions.

But pride is not always so obvious. Anyone who has been convicted of it before would say that is usually comes in what we would see as minor attitudes, actions and words we say to others. And isn't it funny, how easy it is to see in others, but takes three times as long (or longer) to notice in ourselves? Well, they say love might be blind, but I am discovering that pride is even blinder.

When praying about something recently, I was having trouble getting an answer, until I realized that it was my own pride that stood in the way. Obadiah says that our pride can deceive us-- trick us, make us think something that isn't true, keeps us from seeing the reality at hand. Because pride is what keeps people from going to God (2 Cor. 4:3-4), how can I expect an honest answer from him if I am determined to hear what I think is the "right" thing? I needed a dosage of humility to make the right choice.

A quote from CS Lewis says, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you." 

God has long used the illustration of a path and a tree in the distance to exemplify my walk with him. In the picture, he stands by the tree and waits for me to meet him there. When he first showed this to me, he revealed that I was looking down at the grass around my feet, the flowers, bugs and twigs, instead of looking at his face and walking towards him with my eyes fixed. By concentrating on my own path, by looking at my own feet while walking, I am thinking that I can take myself where I need to go better than Jesus can lead me there. Meanwhile, Jesus is saying, "I know the path! I created it and mapped out your journey! Look at me!" It's kind of like Peter walking on water. As soon as he looked down and began to marvel at the fact he was walking on water, he began to sink. (Matt 14:22-33) Pride is as simple as a a peek at my own feet.

So if pride is what blinds us, what restores our sight? Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Psalm 19:8 says, "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." The answer is PURITY! Psalm 119:9 says, "How can a young [person] keep [their] way pure? By living according to your word." 

Briefly stated: Faith. Living according to God's word and not my own inclinations.

I once heard faith defined this way, "Faith is obedience to the unseen." Just as my struggle is to take my eyes off my feet and where they are taking me and just like Peter took only a brief moment to check out the fact he was walking on water, we all need to stop looking down, and start looking up! It's our pride, even those brief moments of "I can do this" or "I am strong enough" that keep us from seeing what's ahead. Whereas our culture tells us to map out our own paths and know where we are going (graduates, I am sure you can relate), faith calls us to follow and be obedient to the unseen. It's an interesting paradox, to give up the blindness of pride in exchange for the blindness of faith.

Peter looked down and he almost drowned. But worse than that, he lost sight of his Savior, just like I tend to when I think that looking at my feet is more reliable than seeking his face. Don't look down, lest you drown.