man-pride

Hello, my name is Joseph and I have man-pride. *supportive applause*group hugs*

Both proud to be a man and driven by the irresistable, secretly sensitive, stubborn male ego. Man-pride can range from the "good" of instilling confidence, courage, and even healthy competition; to the obnoxious, arrogant, and selfishly ambitious jerk-faced-ness.

In moments of my own flamboyant expression of man-pride, women have reacted by rolling their eyes and moaning "Ugh... there he goes again... stupid man-pride..." To which I and other "manly men" in the vicinity have responded, "Yea, but man-pride makes the world go 'round. There wouldn't be any progress without man-pride" I'm not sure if a more stupid and prideful response can be generated... wow. Bravo to us.

What, of course, we're referring to is the pride that fuels competition. Without competition, advancements in technology would take huge hits and we'd still be math problems on abacii (plural of abacus... I think...)

Man on the moon? All thanks to dueling national space programs of the Cold War-era. Man-pride.
The Olympics and professionalized sports? "Appreciation for the human body, athleticism, a love for the game" Man-pride!
Mirrors, cut-off sleeves, very loud grunting, bicep curls in weight rooms? For "form, cooling off, effort, and strength". Nope. Man-pride.Lots of things are (seemingly) driven by man-pride. So it's a necessary evil meant to be carefully controlled, right?
Some women may even desire to tame the wild, bad boys and mold them to do their will... or so I've heard...

One of the first lessons I've learned in man-hood goes against man-pride: "A man knows when he's wrong and isn't afraid to admit it. A man says Sorry and has the fortitude to move on"

The confidence and security of a humble man comes not from his own abilities and acheivements but from his firmly rooted identity in something bigger than himself, that eternal thing being the LORD God.

The more I think about it, the more laughable it all is. There's no room for man-pride. Pride strips away the possibility of unconditional love, forgiveness, teamwork, and the vulnerability needed to learn from one's mistakes. I've been so pride-ful that I can literally count the number of times I've said, "Sorry" to someone for something I screwed up on. I've screwed up (ie. sinned) countless times and owed many apologies. Instead, my pride prevented me from saying or sometimes even being sorry. I've replaced what should've been a "Sorry, I was wrong. Forgive me." to a pitiful excuse-filled explanation of my side of the story and coming to a mere understanding in hopes of quelching any fires of hate and bitterness. That's called self-preservation, people. Man-pride.

Pride makes the world go 'round. That's only true in the fallen world - de facto to the seeing eyes of men! But the LORD God is Creator of the Universe and proves otherwise. All things were made by Christ, for Christ, and created to worship Him. It really is funny sometimes because my pride can be so ironic. The things I judge people for are the very things I fall short in - either at that particular time or sometime later. Who am I kidding? I'm not perfect.

The real meaning of "Do not judge" in Scriptures is not necessarily to rid ourselves of all judgment (because we absolutely need it!) but to have a sober judgment of ourselves and not be so quick in judgin others with a hypocritical, man-pride-driven heart. Or else what? "Lest you be judged the same way".

Reading John 13 again, I see how Simon Peter cried out to Jesus to not wash his dirty feet. Peter urges Jesus to wash his head and body, but not his feet. Let that be done by someone else, or perhaps by Peter himself. Jesus replies that he must wash Peter's feet otherwise Peter cannot share life with Christ.

I am at that place again - Cavalry, at the foot of the Cross. So ashamed and prideful to let Jesus, King of all kings, stoop down and wash the dirtiest parts of my life, I say "No! I can do it! Please don't touch my feet! They're too nasty!" The full extent of man-pride is self-sufficiency, thinking I can do it all by myself. I am too good and pass myself as modest by not accepting free gifts. I refuse help when I clearly need it. I need to earn something so I can feel as if it was me who saved myself.

Unless I humble myself and abandon myself to God, I cannot identify myself with Him. God will not force Himself upon me. He does not need to persuade me of Himself and further fuel my pride. He does not need to try to convince me nor can I possible convince myself holy to God. The only way man-pride can be defeated is self-humility at Christ's feet. Only I can humble myself, by accepting grace. Again and again.

And in so doing, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." - Galatians 2:20-21