THURSDAY, July 15

Romans 12:1-8. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.

An ancient church father said that getting rid of pride was like peeling an onion. You say to yourself, "Now at last pride is gone and the kernel of humility remains." But you find that there is another layer of pride, and another. The outside is gone, but the core is the same.

One place where it clings and is often unrecognized is in our pride of race, class, and nation. Each group tends to believe it is superior to other groups, morally and in the contribution it makes to society and the world. We think we are the people, the hope of civilization, the standard against which others are to be measured. Because there is some truth in this (every group has some virtues), it is difficult to see the subtle role played by pride.

One of the marks of conversion is to follow Saint Paul's advice and not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. Each race, class, and nation is only one among many, and God wills the existence of us all. Each group under God must play its part while honoring others and the parts they play. (1943)

PRAY for the Diocese of Egba (Province of Lagos, Nigeria)

Ps 37:1-18 * 37:19-42; Joshua 3:14-4:7; Matthew 26:1-16

View the daily Lectionary Readings at Satucket.com.
Or view the Bible passages at Biblegateway.com.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (2)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

Show/hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Add Comment Preview