ཐི♱ཋྀ𝕿𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖙𝖞 𝖛𝖘 𝕭𝖆𝖇𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖓ཐི♱ཋྀ

When someone is humble enough to be honest with themselves and has the courage to admit that they don't know if they'll make it to heaven or not, but they'll keep pointing others there... What would cause some to be so quick to label this as 'pride'? Is that really what they think pride sounds like? Are they deflecting because the language convicts them and that causes them discomfort? Did you know that facing discomfort is good for us, that it sharpens our iron and helps us grow into stronger people? The Truth is, pride will often refuse to face its own lack. It will say, "I'm just fine how I am. I'm definitely safe. I've got this handled. Nothing needs to change for me." Scripture is quite clear on this: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." [James 4:6] In [Luke 18:9–14] the tax collector who simply cried out for mercy went home justified, but the self-assured Pharisee did not. True humility says the much harder thing that pride will not and that's John's posture too: "He must increase, I must decrease." [John 3:30] Even mature believers live in the tension of [Romans 7]. Denying that struggle isn't faith either, it's self-deception. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." [1 John 1:8–10] It's a simple test: Does the statement make the speaker the hero, or does it keep pointing away from the speaker toward Christ? To those who would slap the label "pride" on someone's vulnerability in order to protect their discomfort in the language and their preferred picture of the Christian life: you are reversing the categories. You call honesty vanity and demand polished formulas instead. That isn't discernment. It is itself pride calling honesty by its own name. But to those who stay honest about their needs and still point others to Jesus, you are not prideful. You're living the very heart posture Scripture calls blessed. Keep going! :)