Day 136: Independent or Full of Pride

Proverbs 29:23

A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

2 Chronicles 26:16

His pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God.

Today I want to talk about the thin line between being independent and full of pride. As we are going into our adult years, learning to navigate through life and learning to provide and take care of our ourselves, the one thing we seek or want is independence. We want to be able to stand on our own two feet and be an adult. But sometimes, in lieu of that, we tend to get a bit prideful when it comes to being independent. We are too prideful to ask or receive help when it’s needed or offered. We want to do everything on our own so we can get credit for being independent, and we sometimes boast about it.

I remember moving out when I was eighteen. I wanted to be on my own. I wanted to brag about how I was eighteen, working, going to school, paying my own rent and bills. I was, for the most part, but my sole reason for wanting to be independent was so that I could brag about how good I was doing on my own. I had something to prove to the many people who doubted me. I remember talking to my roommate who was four years older than me, and very bad for me. A particular instance I remember was that we were in need of a microwave and someone was willing to buy us a brand new one. And her words to me were, “Don’t accept anything from anyone, we can handle this on our own. We don’t need their charity.” I was a different person back then so I listened to her. As I got older I remembered that situation and simply said to myself, “We might not need their charity but we do need a microwave and they are willing to give it to us.”

-Dyamond

I say this to say, just because we are independent does not mean that we will not need help, or that we have to decline when people are willing to help us. Everyone can use a hand, I don't care who you are or who you think you are, everybody needs somebody. We get in the mindset of saying, “God will provide.” God is sending people left and right but we choose not to take the help because we think God is going to knock on our door with a brand new microwave. He sends people, He blesses us through other people but if we are too prideful to see that then we will miss everything God has for us.

Another huge part of being independent is being able to be on our own, to take care of ourselves, to remind people that we are successful by ourselves, that no one helped us get to where we are. Alright, let’s stop right there, that’s a lie, everyone has had to stand on the shoulders of at least one person to get to where they are. No one reaches success alone. No one is self-made. God made man be in fellowship and communion with one another. We are here to serve and help our brothers and sisters. But sometimes, we mistake independence for isolation so that we can stand out in a crowd. We stand alone. When we stand alone we get the title of being an independent person, and the mindset that it’s lonely at the top. It’s not lonely we just decided to isolate ourselves from everyone else. Everyone is so focused on standing out and being different, that ironically, that is what makes you just like everyone else. We all want to tell the story of how we never needed anyone to depend on. How we are responsible for own our success, and how it’s so lonely at the top. That my friend is called pride and it brings you down quicker than anything can. Our pride will cause us to fall and fall hard. We entertain or glorify this idea of being alone at the top so we can take all the credit for getting there. There are so many people we had to stand on and step on to get to where we are.

If we really want to be independent we will put our pride aside and know that independence is not all about self. It is not about being able to brag and boast about how well we do on our own. Yes, we must learn how to stand on our own two feet and take care of ourselves. But we must notice when pride is taking the place of independence in our lives.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to examine yourself today and your motives. Are you seeking independence to feed your pride? Whatever the answer may be talk to God about, pray that He shows you the difference between pride and independence.