by Lori Hatcher
Want to know a secret?
There’s a part of the writing life that scares me. I’m more afraid of it than a bad review, a manuscript rejection, or a book that doesn’t earn out its advance.
One of my greatest fears as a writer is a teeny little one-syllable word called pride.
You may be tempted to scroll on because pride hasn’t been on your Top Ten list of sins. What do I have to be prideful about, you think. I’m not a NY Times Bestselling author. I haven’t won any major book awards. Shoot, I can’t even get an article published. What’s to be prideful about?
Pride Is Sneaky
But pride is sneaky. “Successful” writers struggle with it, but so do “unsuccessful” ones. We can “fail” as a writer and still battle pride.
Pride says, “God could never use me to write anything useful. When He was handing out gifts, I got the leftovers.”
Pride says, “I work harder than he does. Why does he get all the breaks?”
Pride says, “Why did her devotion get published and mine didn’t? I write as well as she does.”
Pride comes to the multi-published and the unpublished. To the veteran and the novice. To the spiritually mature and the new believer.
What Scares Me Most
What scares me most about pride is that God hates it.
“The lord detests all the proud of heart,” Solomon wrote (Proverbs 16:5).
Pride is a glory-stealer, taking the crown of praise and honor that rightfully belongs to God and strutting about with it on our unworthy heads.
Pride is the sin of King Nebuchadnezzar, who looked at all God had allowed him to accomplish and failed to give Him glory (Daniel 4:30).
God not only hates pride, He pledges to oppose the proud (James 4:6).
We don’t ever want God to oppose us.
We need Him for every inspiring word, clever phrase, and open door. We need Him for the life and breath in our bodies and the ability to put words on the page. We need Him to teach us, provide for us, and multiply our feeble efforts.
More than anything, we want Him to be pleased with us. Whether we’re multi-published or unpublished, famous or obscure, we want to honor Him with every word we type so that when we stand before Him in heaven, we’ll hear Him say, “Well done.”
How Do We Guard Our Hearts from Pride?
- First, we acknowledge (and continue to acknowledge) that every ability we have and every opportunity that comes our way comes from God. If we think we did it, we’ll be tempted to steal God’s glory. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). We have nothing to brag about.
- Second, whenever a prideful thought arises in our heart, we must immediately confess and forsake it. First John 1:9 provides the way of escape: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- Third, when praise comes our way, we must lay it at the feet of Jesus. Avoiding false humility (which is another form of pride), we can acknowledge that God chose to use us while recognizing that without His empowering, our words would be empty. One of my favorite responses to kind readers who thank me for my work is, “I’m so glad my simple words and God’s great Word has ministered to your heart.” I’ve heard another author say, “Isn’t it amazing what God can do when we surrender our writing to Him?”
- Finally, (and this is not an exhaustive list), we can look for ways to build others up in their calling and writing journey. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,” Paul wrote, “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).
When we humble ourselves before the Lord, (have an accurate and biblical view of ourselves and Him), He will lift us up (James 4:10).
And His praise will be more valuable than anything this world can bestow upon us.
If this is the desire of your heart, join me (and Selah) in singing our commitment to Him.
And if you’d like to add to the conversation, please share your thoughts on pride and the writer and how you’re learning to avoid it.
LINK TO “I’d Rather Have Jesus” by Selah. It will work best by embedding it: https://youtu.be/eHnLEkfdEF0
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Thank you for this great reminder, Lori! I used to think there would be a once and for all breaking of this sin of pride, but as long as we have flesh on our bones it can always sneak in a back door. Thank you for sharing such wonderful, simple actions we can take to keep that back door closed.
ReplyDeleteSadly, Mary, you’re right. As long as we live in this world, we’ll struggle with pride. But, by God’s grace, we’ll STRUGGLE with it (and hopefully not give in). May God give us humble hearts, for His glory!
DeleteThank you Lori for this piece. What a battle with pride. This fight is an on going occurrence. When I speak and I hear myself using the word “I” repeatedly then I realize it is pride coming out.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tips.
Art, it’s a sin as old as time. It’s roots run deep, but with God’s help (“Lord, protect my heart from pride and help me always give You the glory!”) we can win the battle! Thanks for sharing the words you’ve learned to recognize as warning words. God bless!
DeletePride: the root of all sin and perhaps the easiest sin to fall into. Thank you for your heartfelt reminder, Lori. May our Lord protect us from pride.
ReplyDeleteYou’re right, MaryAnn, it’s no coincidence that pride came first and lives on in our world today. Lord, protect us so we can give you the glory, honor, and praise you deserve!
DeleteA good reminder, Lori, and why we all need to be always on guard. It's super sneaky!!
ReplyDeleteYep, Ane, it slithers into the door of our hearts and will make its home there if we don’t remain vigilant. Thanks for chiming in today. God’s blessings.
DeleteLori, thank you for this needed post. This is very well stated with a strong biblical bases. I’ve experienced pride in the past and this is my greatest fear as I strive to write and publish. Above all, I desire to share truth for God’s glory. I never want to be found giving myself credit or filled with envy toward award winning, best selling authors. Above all, I desire to share truth for God’s glory. Without salvation and God’s word we’d have no source for writing!
ReplyDeleteOh, friend, we’re all so prone to pride, in it’s self-exalting AND self-deprecating forms. Lord, help us spot it, squelch it, and run away from anything that steals God’s glory.
DeleteThanks so much for this post, Lori. If I struggle with pride over the smallest things, I'm concerned what will happen if I do attain any measure of success. The good thing is that it frightens me so much, I run to the Lord all the more to battle it. May we ever do so!
ReplyDeleteYour first point about acknowledging that all we receive comes from God has been one of the biggest helps to me as I've struggled against this temptation lately. Another is Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." One secondary temptation pride brings is hiding. My dear mother-in-law used to say that spiritual pride was such a temptation for her that she pulled out of any kind of public ministry, even working in Awanas. I didn't think to share this verse with her then, but it reminds me whatever I do that is seen by others, the glory goes to God, not me.
Another things that has helped me immensely recently is playing songs that help keep glory on the Lord. I was introduced to "All My Boast Is In Jesus," "All Glory Be to Christ," and "May Christ Be All" at church. Then I looked them up on YouTube and played them over and over, because the words spoke to me so much. I wasn't purposefully trying to memorize them, but as I prepared for an interview one day, I became aware that one of these songs was playing in my mind. How kind of the Lord to fortify me ahead of time with the right mindset. I especially love the lines in "All My Boast Is In Jesus" that say "O foolish pride, be crucified" and "Rise up, my soul, and bless the Lord. Who else is worthy?"
Barbara, you make a really good point that pride can gain victory in our lives in more than one way. We can either self-exalt or we can withdraw. Either one steals the glory from God and hinders His good work. I love your suggestion to use music to remind yourself of truth. It’s a powerful tool in the Holy Spirit’s arsenal if we hide God’s Word in our heart that way. Thanks for adding spiritually true thoughts to the conversation today.
DeleteThank you for this important post, Lori. Pride seems to be at the center of every sin, and I've struggled with it. In addition to the scriptures you quoted, I found some practical wisdom in Victor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" to combat the "Why" questions. After suffering in Nazi concentration camps for years and losing his wife and most of his family members, Frankl came to the conclusion (I'm paraphrasing here) that our job is not to ask why bad or unfair things happen to us. Instead, our job is to answer life when it questions us.
ReplyDeleteKay, I think the best place we can be spiritually is when we admit we are prone to pride. We’re most in danger when we think it’s someone else’s temptation. Scripture tells us God resists the proud, and I don’t ever ever ever want God to resist me. May He all give us humble grace instead.
DeleteWonderful reminder about such an important topic, Lori! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMay we all remain humble and grateful, for our good and God’s glory, Julie!
DeleteThank you Lori for this critical reminder. And the healthy fear every writer should have. We spend so much time fearful of other things, and forget this one thing. Blessings to you today!
ReplyDelete