Thought for Today
Psalm 20:7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
Proverb 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
2 Corinthians 7:4 I often boast about you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with consolation; I am overjoyed in all our affliction.
Galatians 6:4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride.
Somewhere over all the generations of copying scrolls and manuscripts, a part of Proverbs 16:18 was deleted. Following the text above, it should read, “except when talking about grandchildren.” Either that, or I am headed for destruction and a fall.
This morning, Greta and I attended the high school graduation ceremony for our youngest granddaughter. We attended the high school graduation ceremony for our grandson just a few weeks ago. It seems like we attended the high school graduation for their parents just a few months ago. Both of our own children are now ‘empty nesters.’
My challenge right now is to find some other word to describe the emotion I now feel. Pride carries far too many negative semantic connotations. My spell-check offers: happiness; satisfaction; self-esteem; egotism; or self-satisfaction. I’m going to go with happiness. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)
The emotion identified especially in the Old Testament as pride seems to me to be more akin to arrogance or smug self-satisfaction. It particularly applies to the untested work Paul contrasts with the tested work. Every time I think about pride, I recall the words of the baseball philosopher Dizzy Dean. “Jay Hanna "Dizzy" . . . was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Browns. . . A brash and colorful personality, Dean is the last National League (NL) pitcher to win 30 games in one season (1934).” (Wikipedia)
Dean was part of the famous Gashouse Gang of the St. Louis Cardinals and was beloved in Houston because the Houston Buffaloes were a farm club for the Cardinals. Dean said, “It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it.” I’m going to go with, “It ain’t pride if your grandchildren really did it.”
I have occasionally been accused of being Pauline in my faith. Paul would certainly understand the emotion I feel as I watch our grandchildren mature into young adults. He wrote about it to the Corinthians and Galatians. Paul was particularly concerned with and proud of their growth and maturity in their Christian faith. The churches to which Paul wrote letters were at the beginning of the 2000+ year long tunnel in which we stand amidst. If you prefer a different metaphor, we stand atop a 2000+ year high building of faith. They were on the bottom floor.
As Christians, are we allowed to feel pride? From “All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride,” I conclude that pride which is not arrogant, not haughty, not hateful or demeaning can be acceptable. If the work of those Galatians was the fulfillment of "Luke 10:27You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself, " then I believe Paul would approve.
The pride I feel in our children and grandchildren as they mature and grow as people and as Christians is based on the lives they have led and that they live now. Admittedly, the testing of their ‘work’ is the testing of a parent and grandparent. I can be accurately accused of being more tolerant towards the grandchildren than towards their parents. Their tests have been less strict, less severe. But all have not only passed, they have aced it!
And as I may let slip some snippets of conversation about our 3 grandchildren, I’ll remember my take on Dizzy Dean’s statement. “It ain’t pride if your grandchildren really did it.” Ours did!
Stay safe, continue to grow in faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray