She pulled the folded sheet of paper out of her pocket, cleared her throat, and took a deep breath. The lump was still there. They were all gathered around the flag pole at Station 18 as survivors of the recent tragedy. It was a firefighter families' version of "See You at the Pole", from young children to the seasoned elderly. She read her tribute:
Fallen, But Not Forgotten
He won't be coming home for tomorrow night's dinner.
He won't see his son's next homerun, to call him a winner.
He will miss the first sight of his daughter's prom dress.
He will miss telling her she's the best.
He can hold me in a hug no longer.
I wish he could see that my faith is stronger.
He would not want me to grow weary.
He would not want to see my eyes sad and teary.
He would want me to increase my stride.
He would want me to press on with heart and pride.
He won't ride the truck back with his men.
No, he is fallen, but not forgotten.
God does not want us to be weak, wimpy Christians. Instead, He wants us to be strong and confident, claiming His power and promises. The catch is this: we must maintain a check and balance on our pride and develop a humble attitude in acknowledging the impact of God's grace.
What does God think about pride? "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (James 4: 6) There is no dispute over the dangers of pride for the Christian, for it can be the subtle nudge that starts a domino effect of sin. Proverbs 6: 16-19 places pride at the top of a list: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."
We can maintain a good type of pride that is helpful in our spiritual walk. " Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself without comparing himself to somebody else." (Gal. 6: 4) How can we keep from losing control of our pride? We can start by checking out Psalm 36: 1-2. "An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulnessof the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin." Also Psalm 111: 10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."
God has given us everything we need to be spiritually effective everyday. Let us not be irresponsible in handling these gifts by developing self-pride, thus neglecting to give Him credit for what He has done. Instead let us "in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct our paths". (Proverbs 3: 6) To God be the glory.
She pulled the folded sheet of paper out of her pocket, cleared her throat, and took a deep breath. The lump was still there. They were all gathered around the flag pole at Station 18 as survivors of the recent tragedy. It was a firefighter families' version of "See You at the Pole", from young children to the seasoned elderly. She read her tribute: