How Pride Destroys More Than You Think | Esther 3:7-15

PRIDE: It doesn’t come with a loud announcement – rather it comes with a whisper that says – “You were right, weren’t you?…” “That person had it coming…” “You would’ve handled this better than they did…” “You deserve a small celebration of this little victory…” “You’re doing just fine… it’s not your problem, it’s theirs…” Pride comes by comparing. It exists because we are constantly measuring ourselves against other people—and the moment we discover we come out ahead, even in a small thing, we do as Haman and the King did, and “lift the cup”. In Esther 3, while the couriers went running out of the palace in every direction, with the order to mass murder the Jews, and as the streets of Susa were filling up with people reading this proclamation in shock, inside the palace, were two men who sat down to drink and toast their accomplishment. Absolutely no concern about how any of this was affecting the people. And this is what pride looks like at the moment of its triumph: It celebrates. It drinks. And it cannot hear the city crying out beneath its windows. The deepest and most terrible thing about pride is that it deafens us. It convinces us that the harm we are doing to other people is not really happening… OR if it is happening, it is not really our problem… OR if it is our problem, we excuse it because we believe we deserve the celebratory drink after all we have been through. So too, we have a decision to make daily. There are two cups before us, that can be reached for: (1) The cup Haman drank. (2) The cup Christ drank. The cup that toasts itself, OR the cup that pours itself out. This week, when you catch yourself reaching for a small toast of self accomplishment over someone else — or find the spark happening, when a person you had written off fails, or the running commentary begins to applaud your superiority — pause. Notice what you were about to drink and put the cup of Hamen’s pride down. Pick up the cup of Christ - the one that pours itself out. Ask God to humble you and help you trust Him completely. - Leading People to Find and Follow Jesus. Connect With Us! Instagram |   / gcdenver   Facebook |   / gracechapel   Website | https://gracechapel.org #Gracechapel #pride #esther