Pride is a difficult thing to battle even for those who earnestly seek to follow Christ Jesus. It can subtlety sneak up on you and overtake you when you don’t realize it. One indicator that pride has seized you is how often you use “I” or “me” instead of “God”. This is evident in Job 29 where we read about Job reminiscing about happier times.
In this chapter Job talks a lot about the things he did. In verse 12 he touts, “I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper (NASB).” In verse 16 and 17 he said, “I was eyes to the blind And feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy.” In verse 21 he stated, “To me they listened and waited, And kept silent for my counsel.”
Compare this to Daniel when the King asks him, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation (Daniel 2:26)?” To which Daniel replies, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries… (Daniel 2:27-28).”
Job’s statement in Job 29:11 is a stark contrast to Daniel’s humble spirit: “For when the ear heard, it called me blessed, And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me.” A quick search of the Book of Job reveals the focus on self. The word “I” is used 320 times, “me” 251 times, while God is mentioned 132 times. It makes me wonder if I have a similar bias toward “me” and “I” that overshadows God. I pray this year for more of Jesus and less of me and I.
© 2020, CGThelen
140 Character Christian 
Wow; excellent point(s). Thank you for much on which to chew.
May we have more of Christ and less of “I”. Blessings.
Wow, I had never noticed that before. Thanks for an enlightening post, and for making your point so succinctly. (I am so busy these days I am skipping over the lengthy posts for now. )
Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. May we continue to fill our life with Christ. Blessings.
Pride is a silent killer. Pride can keep us from crying out to God and humbling ourselves. Pride can be hard to detect because it distorts the lens or ourselves and prevents us from seeing how we really are. Pride not only filters out the evil in our hearts it also cause us to filter or distort how we see others. We find fault, it’s pride that keeps us from seeing the speck in our own eye.
Well said. Good insight about the dangers of pride. Thanks for the comment. Blessings.
Blessings to you as well!