You might be prideful if...

This is really random and disjunct.

Thought A: I was relentlessly criticized as a child for my ADHD ways. Some of you are now thinking how much sense this makes in light of my poorly written blog posts! Anyways, children or adults with this disorder, at least from my perspective, have a difficult time differentiating criticism for their behavior and criticism of their person-hood. It sounds something like, "Jaime, you never sit still. You are driving me crazy!" And that would mean to me, that "I" was driving someone crazy. Not my wriggling about, but ME. An irritation with my conduct meant a rejection of my character. The trouble was that I was at a disadvantage to control that conduct because of my ADHD. I now count those formative years as divinely appointed humbling. Contrary to pop psychology, having a high view of self is not always best. I am in no way advocating harsh criticism. However, I do believe that God allowed such things, namely my struggle with feeling rejected for who I was, for my ultimate good.

Thought B: We should not marinate in self-loathing or condemnation. Thinking poorly of ourselves excessively still means we are thinking of ourselves excessively. Pride disguised. We should ultimately believe what the truth of God's word says about us over what others say. If what others say does not line up with Scripture, we get to reject it and we should.

Pride.

Sunday's sermon ignited an idea in me to compile a list. Brainstorming symptoms of pride was so interesting. I found that nearly any "sin" could be traced back to pride. The insidiousness of pride is shocking!

You might be prideful if:

You are a sensitive person (easily offended person).

You are a mother. (see Heather's ancedote to pride in motherhood)

You are habitually late.

You overspend.

You have a stagnant sex life (married, of course).

You are over or underweight.

You speed.

You are depressed.

You are anxious.

You are irritable.

You are inflexible.

You are passive aggressive.

You are short.

You usually get your way.

You are pro-choice.

You are addicted.

You are apathetic.

You are negative.

You are not cooperative.

You are not easily delighted.

You are not easily awed.

You rarely sing.

You dislike children.

Pride is such a root. Why do we chase after all it's symptoms?

Be killing pride, or it will be killing you. This is my new mantra! Time to bust out CJ Mahaney's book again!!