I recently had a conversation about praying for the perpetrator of the Colorado movie theater shootings and his parents. My impression was that this person thought I was being far too generous to suggest that the shooter's parents or the shooter deserved any kind of compassion or prayer. Their argument was that the parents were somehow negligent and/or responsible for their son turning into such a monster. And while that may be true, I don't think we can automatically assume such a position.
Now, let me be clear, I believe this young man should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and should indeed be held accountable and punished. Make no mistake, if found guilty, he should never be released from prison. With that said, though, I do believe that all of us who follow Jesus should be praying not only for the victims and their families, but for the shooter and his family too. To think that any one of us who raises a child does it so well that this could not possibly happen to them is, I think, an insidious form of pride.
And that brings me to what I talked about in my last blog: Point 2, Pride takes many forms. We often recognize the pride in other people long before we see it in ourselves. You may have experienced the repercussions of a boss or coworker who used insults to humiliate. Or maybe you've had a teenager roll their eyes because they were certain they knew more than you. But what about the not so obvious?
I went to God's word to see what I could find. Of course I found the Bible had much to say about pride. But what I wanted was not so much the consequences because that is for the next blog. What I really wanted was sort of a definition....a way to identify pride in my own life. I want to be able to see these subtle, but harmful tendencies in my own heart before God decides I need some consequences. What I found convicted my heart.
Jeremiah 9:23-24: Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Another way to translate boast is "to glory in." I could be wrong, but I think the problem arises when "we glory in." Not a thing wrong with working hard, living right and teaching our children to make good choices. After all the Bible also teaches that we reap what we sow. But to think that I am immune to having a child go into a movie theater with the intent to harm simply because I did all the right things as a mom is to "glory in" my own ability. To think that I am somehow exempt or protected from tragedy because I do all the right things is "to glory in." There, and there alone, go I except for the grace of God.
I've been plenty guilty of having pride when it comes to my children. I have often compared my children to some other's just to give my own ego a boost. The same can be said about many areas of my life. I'm ashamed to admit that God has pointed out numerous pits of pride for me to work on eliminating. How about you? Will you join me in saying, "May all my boasting be in this: that I understand and know the Lord, recognizing His character and acknowledging He is the Lord?"
