Transformed – teen devotion – October 6, 2019
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:5b-7
Everything in love
Think of the last time a trusted friend turned on you. You thought you could count on them only to find out that they only were concerned about themselves. What’s worse is they betrayed you. They posted unkind things about you on social media. They spread lies about you. In the end, they really weren’t your friend.
That’s how pride works. For a while, you like pride. He’s your friend. You feel good about yourself. Others might even view you as confident. You seem to be getting ahead in life.
Pride inside of you says, “If you want to be great, put yourself first. If you don’t, you’ll never succeed.”
But, at some point, pride turns on you. You realize that living a self-centered life has its drawbacks: Friends might leave you or avoid you. Everything seems dependent on you and on your shoulders, but you realize you aren’t always in control of life. One mistake could ruin you. That’s a lot of pressure.
The most frightening thing about having a prideful heart is that God will oppose you. That’s not a good place to be. He will oppose you because there’s no room for him inside a prideful heart. God knows that when he’s not first in your heart, everything falls apart eventually. Pride really is a monster.
The good news is that you have another friend. A truer friend. He is humility personified. His name is Jesus Christ. He’s kind. He’s dependable. He is concerned about you. He sticks with you when others bail. He’s always thinking of you. In fact, he left everything to come rescue you and serve you. And he’d do it again if he had to!
If the monster of pride is getting to you, fight him with humility. Humility starts with confessing your pride and turning to your friend, Jesus. God will then lift you up and calm your heart with his presence.
Jesus’ love and forgiveness refresh you and empower you to a better life. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.
So, hang out with and follow your best friend, Jesus, today. Put on your new self. Live today thinking of the interests of others, not just your own. Do something today that lifts up another person. Doing so will be a punch in the gut to the monster of pride.
Prayer: Father, you thought of us first even when we brought sin into the world. You promised us Jesus. He had everything, but willingly put our interests ahead of his own. Convince us that you belong first place in our hearts. Show us the ugliness of pride. Forgive us for our pride. Give us the strength to lift up another person today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
