This verse made me think harder about what pride truly is. I look at my relationships where there is a tension, and sure enough, my pride is at stake. Pride is so different from that hot button word-- self-esteem. In fact, pride comes out of a feeling of insecurity and NOT security. In a sense, pride comes out of low self-esteem. In relationships, when I get competitive, defensive and prickly, when my pride is hurt, when I resent another's success-- this often comes from from an area where I am trying so hard to prove myself, to hang onto a sense that I belong, that I am good enough, that someone approves of me. In relationships where I feel loved and secure, my pride does not rear its ugly head, and there is no strife.
So, what do we do with those relationships where we feel an imbalance, and where we are not sure of acceptance? (There are going to be MANY of these in everyday life.) The best thing to do and the hardest thing to do is to lay aside our pride. To be quiet, to turn to God for security, to rest in His love. Then, if we fail to live up to the standards of that relationship, or if we aren't acknowledged, or if we "lose" in the unspoken competition, we can gracefully accept this. We can still love the person; we can defer to another's "superiority"; it is not threatening. We can love, we can support, and we can genuinely be happy for one another's successes.
