Pride and Humility

Pride seeks power, the ability to control others, to move them around like toy soldiers.  If the proud can’t get power, they’ll go to Plan B, i.e., Be close to to powerful people. 

You know what a name dropper is, of course.  He mentions he knows this famous person and talked with that celebrity and had supper with another big shot.  There’s real pleasure in name dropping.  I know.  I’m about to drop one myself.

Several months back, I got to ride in a car with Bob Russell.  If you don’t know who Bob Russell is, he led Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, to become one of the largest churches in America.  I was at a retreat Bob was leading.  He invited me to ride with him to his house for supper.  Now a bunch of us were going there for supper, but he didn’t ask any of the others to ride with him.  He asked me.  The other fellows stood by the van and watched as I got in the passenger seat beside this author, this leader of a church of 25,000, this great man.  I’m not going to lie to you, friends; it felt good!  As they say down south, I was walkin’ in tall cotton!

But what struck–and humbled–me about the ride with Bob Russell wasn’t his power and influence.  It was his humility.  As the recently retired pastor of a megachurch, he didn’t have to take special time for me.  Who would’ve expected that?  He could’ve simply led the sessions at our retreat, and we would’ve gotten a lot out of them.  It would’ve been enough.  When his work was done, he could jump on his white horse and ride off like the Lone Ranger.  Instead, he treated me and the other guys like fellow pastors, comrades in arms.  He made each of us feel important.

Pride makes a person less approachable, less real.  Pride wears a mask.  It builds a wall around a person.  Humility tears off the mask, breaks down the wall.  It takes nothing away from a person–not accomplishments, skills, or good looks.  It just makes a person easier to know, more fun to be with.  

Are you fun to be with?