Love Is
1 Cor. 13
St. Michael’s Home Group Program
Week 6: Love is not Proud (Chris Luyt)
1 Cor. 13:4
Reflection
What makes pride the cardinal sin is that it is, by absolute implication, a denial of our humanness – not only of our particular limitations, but, more so, of our absolute dependence, for wholeness, upon God and the rest of creation.
It was pride that caused Lucifer’s (God’s chief Cherub) downfall (see Ezekiel 28:12b-19); it was pride that corrupted Adam and Eve – the idea that they could be like God (Gen. 3:4-7).
To place this in context, and to understand the devastation caused by pride, we must grasp deeply and practically how dependent we are on other things for life, for purpose and meaning, and for fulfilment. Pride lies at the heart of discontentment – when we begin to realise that we are not (in absolute reality) the centre of the universe: not the physical universe or any one particular person’s universe.
The Bible explains that most people will not be able to free themselves from pride (Luke 13:22-30)– from the fear that God and nature and themselves are not enough. The refusal to trust a God that is bigger than their personal life-agenda (which we call faithlessness or unbelief) will evolve into fear, selfishness, manipulation and abuse – in short: sin. For many of those who do surrender to God’s restorative work within, the realisation that they are not the centre of the universe takes most of their earthly lives to grasp and is ultimately only fully received at the point of their death. Many professing Christians must conquer the demon of self-righteousness before they can fully experience the freedom and compassion that come from salvation. Jesus warned that self-righteousnessis the most dangerous form of pride (Luke 12:1-12) because those who begin to ‘suffer’ from it subconsciously believe they have a divine right to it.This is why Jesus Himself had to become the ‘locus’ (the fullest expression) of God’s self-revelation and not any intellectual concept of God or spirituality (like, for example, the Old Testament Law – there are many modern examples, both religious and secular).
In short, we grow spiritually by meditating deeply on Jesus’ words and His way of life, and asking the Holy Spirit,within us, to break us and mould us into channels of God’s prophetic light (truth) and unconditional love. It is this brokenness, realness, and absolutely sacrificial compassion and service that has marked those whom the church recognizes as saints - as a flesh-and-bloodinspiration to those who walk the narrow road that leads to genuine, transformational, eternal life in God. Therefore, love and pride are mutually exclusive.
Application
- Read Luke 6:32-36 & 14:12-14
- The difference between pride and a healthy self-esteem is what we do with what we value in ourselves. And also how our application of what we value in ourselves makes others feel. Lucifer, Adam and Eve could have ensured the effective translation of heaven into earth – they had infinite recourses so long as they recognized The Source. What resources do you have that could translate heaven into earth for others?
- How may these resources, instead, be making you proud and unhelpful to those who cannot repay you? How do you need to become more giving – materially, intellectually, physically, emotionally?
Closing Prayer Reflection
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
(Litany of Humility -RafaelCardinal Merry del Val [1865-1930])