Hindrances to Walking in Love Part 2

CALL TO PRAYER

Title: Hindrances to Walking in Love Part 2

By:  Daniel Peter

Date: 21.07.2021

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:12-13 NIV

Love is the very nature of God, for the bible revealed God to be love (1John 4:8). Knowing that God is light (1John 1:5), invariably, we shine the light of God by walking in love. In the world today, there is so much darkness, this is evident by the increase in wickedness which is dressed as extreme nationalism, racism, ethnicity and other vices that is against the nature of God. The question in the mind of God is, “how come there is so much darkness in the world when my Church is located there (Matthew 5:14)?”. The darkness in the world has persisted simply because the Church is not shining as it should be. This is very sad.

Knowing that the Church is the solution to the darkness in the world, focus should be given to the body of Christ in the impartation of the understanding of the doctrine of Christ, which is essentially “Love Your Neighbour as Yourself (John 15:12)”. In my last contribution to the Call to Prayer Daily Devotional, I mentioned fear as one of the hindrances to walking in love, and I gave keys on how to overcome fear. Today, let’s talk about pride as a hindrance to walking in love.

Pride is the father of all other sins; it was the first sin recorded in creation (Isaiah 14:12-15) and the source of all others. The devil uses the spirit of pride to plague Christians in other to keep them from becoming obedient to the word of God; you need humility to obey God (Philippians 2:8). I have come to see that pride is transparent in colour; it’s hardly visible at the mere sight, it’s only revealed through actions. Because of this, some people who are plagued by this spirit are not aware of it. Some others are aware of it, but not many know how to break free from it. Before we talk about how to set yourself free from the Spirit of pride, let’s try to recognize acts that God considers prideful.

A broad definition of pride is “any thought or ideas that contradict the word of God”. To see this, 2Corinthians 10:5 spoke about every imagination and high thing that “exalteth” itself above the knowledge of God. You exalt yourself above the word of God by having an opinion contrary to it. The question now is, how often do you find it difficult to accept the word of God? Are you selective of who you receive the word from based on their looks, country of origin, age, financial status or any other society divide? If so, the spirit of pride is what is inspiring your actions, for you cannot be obedient to the word you did not receive. 

Again, the idea of being better than the other person because of any reason is pride. Such ideas are prideful for you cannot associate with someone you think you are better than, and love does not discriminate. Also, how do you respond when someone is being celebrated instead of you, or seen to be doing better than you? Do you feel insecure and sad as a result of it? If so, it’s an indication of pride, for your action is because you think you are better, exalting yourself above the other. This was the reason Cain killed Abel (Genesis 4:1–16), and the reason for strife and competition among people in the world today.

Furthermore, self-righteousness is an expression of pride. This can reveal itself as thinking that what you have received from God is a result of your good works, and others who don’t have it because of their sins. This is seen in the conversation between Job and his friends; his friends could not show compassion to his situation because they thought he was sick because of his sins. Again, this is revealed through the prayers of the Pharisee in Luke 18:11. You cannot love whom you think is deserving of his situation.

Now that we know some of the acts of pride, how do we overcome them? We overcome pride by learning humility by observing the life of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:29), and by prayer (Luke 10:19, 2Cor. 10:5).

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask Him to help us to live humbly before Him and Man so that we can be obedient to His commandment of love.

If this has blessed you, please share this Call to Prayer with your friends and family so they will be blessed too. 

To join WE PRAY group, where weekly intercession is done for the Church, for souls to be saved, and for the nations of the World, please click on the link below and fill the form.

For more like this, visit:

https://wisdommedia.org/Wisdom-blog/