Pride Check-Up

Do you think it is right for you to claim, ‘I am righteous before God’? [Job 35.2]

Once again today, as I see nowhere that Elihu was rebuked by God for his words to Job, I must conclude that what Elihu said was accurate and correct.

The question above, posed by Elihu, is a question for the ages.

More than once in Elihu's discourse in today's OYCB reading he mentioned pride. I suppose if Job's story is about anything, it is about pride.

And, the thing is, pride may not be evident when all is going well. It did not show up in Job until adversity set in. And boy, did it show up!

So, in our lives, we must remain in a repentant attitude at all times. Job's model for us is not a good one. Soon after trouble set in, Job's pride surfaced. Oh, it did not show up at first - Job indeed said nothing wrong after he had lost all his wealth and children. But not long after Job was afflicted in his body he started spewing out all kinds of pride and arrogance. Job displayed classic signs of entitlement.

I am amazed the more I look into the story of Job. There is such a lesson about human pride.

Am I righteous before God? No. But Jesus is. And, as my life is found in Jesus, God sees only righteousness in my life. There is a difference between God seeing me as righteous and my saying I am righteous. The difference is pride.

Father, I am trying to learn that I am not equal to Your and certainly not greater than You. I know it sounds silly, but that is exactly what Job seemed to be implying. I know everything I have is from You AND is a gift - no amount of goodness on my part deserves it. I realize that sin in my life (whether I recognize and acknowledge it or not) is at the heart of every trouble I experience. I realize that many others do not share my opinion here, but all I can hope is that my life and attitude will display Your truth in the midst of a sea of religious and powerless speculation.