The Great Forfeiture

I am constantly astonished over the number of people I meet who are all alone. They are estranged from their family and have hardly any friends. They have no community, no church, no tribe. Because they are seeking my advice, I often probe into their life to discover how they ended up so isolated. The answers seem to always come back to some form of pride which has lashed them to the deep ditch of unforgiveness. They are keeping score with their offenders and have not allowed love to free them. They have forgotten (or maybe never known) that if they are born again, then they have a bank account of 4 trillion available to spend. 

The price tag for pride is so great, it will cost us everything we most deeply desire!

When someone offends us and we engage our great enemy of “pride” because we determine WE were wronged and thus, we refuse to humble ourselves to LOVE and FORGIVE; well, it’s a self destructive decision. Our stubborn pride causes us to lose hours, days, months, and sometimes years, or even a lifetime—of life that is so precious we can never quantify it with gold.  We can NEVER get that time back. Whether it’s a relationship with a father, mother, son, daughter, lover, spouse, best friend, colleague, neighbor…or whomever it might be…if you look back at the time wasted—was pride worth it?

Is being “right” worth—the relationship with that person AND worse yet—with God???

Our pride is a wicked enemy that kills all the best love in our life.

BUT we have a choice about whether to sleep alone with this enemy or to embrace the warmth of God’s extraordinary, supernatural love. We ALL desire to be unconditionally loved because we were created in the image of God, who IS love. But the only way we will experience this love is to be humble enough to be close to God—Who gives it freely to us. But if we don’t forgive those who hurt us; we can’t be close to God. But when we DO—then Katie bar the door because His love comes rushing in like nothing we’ve ever known!!! We are no longer afraid to initiate love and forgiveness—even when we’re hurt. Why? Because God is giving us more than we need and we MUST give it away!

My friend, humility releases us to love; and pride imprisons us in loneliness. 

Our pride will never make us good enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, skinny enough, fit enough, or successful enough—to be unconditionally loved by people who also put their greatest value in these fragile, prideful qualities. God is the only One who knows our every flaw, but yet—loves us completely. He humbled himself in love to die for the fallen human race and purchase our redemption. We are ALL far, far beneath His majesty. But—when we are His born again children, His forgiveness towards us is so unimaginably vast!

“He does NOT deal with us according to our sins, NOR repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” 

Psalms 103:10-14

If God does not give US what WE deserve, who are WE to require it from others??? 

Are we greater than God? Are we more deserving of justice than He? No—we are just fools to hold onto grudges and steal love from ourselves.

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:6

If you are struggling with a broken relationship, then get honest with yourself AND with God. Ask Him to forgive your pride. Ask Him to show you how to reach out in humility to the person who has offended you. Only a humble heart can learn to truly love.

Love is stronger than hate and more powerful than the grave.

We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.

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