Painful Pride - The Root of All Sin

Singles and brothers & sisters going through hard times, this is a great article for you. Something to remember is that we have a Friend and Advocate who loves us more than any person ever could. It is our greatest challenge to learn to love as He loves. I personally can attest to how pain can become an idol in one's life. Ironically enough when pain takes over in this sense it truly comes down to pride being the root of your problem. In fact, I'd say that all sin comes down to pride (it WAS the original sin after all). Pride is not always a puffed-up, flag-waiving act of boastfulness. It can be a very subtle psychological condition that takes on the form of self pity. Self pity is not being humble before God. It comes from coveting and not receiving what you covet. It's easy to point your finger at others who deny you of what you think you deserve. But it's even easier to point your finger at yourself and admit you don't deserve it. But this is not a reason to wallow in misery. The fact is you are a sinner deserving of death outside of the blood of Christ. But under the guidance of His Holy Spirit you can be GRACED with gifts far more fulfilling than your wildest dreams. Why is pride such a sin? It abandons God as being our ultimate provider, who fulfills our every need and usurps His authority to help us learn what it is we truly need. When we feel like we have not been provided for in ways that we think we should we are not trusting God. Desires that arise out of our own soul are dangerous since we are so susceptible to self-imposed deceptions, fallacies, cognitive biases and external influences. This is why we need to always, always seek the Lord for wisdom and understanding and to search out the Spirit of truth in all matters. Test the spirits and prove the perfect and acceptable will of God in all things and you will find fulfillment in places you probably never expected to before.