Very few men can accomplish a task without ego being at least part of the goal. When it is sought for in ourselves, it is called pride, when we seek for it from others, it is called vainglory, and there are very few that can live without it.
For the unrepentant it is nearly a continuous search, from simply acquiring information that others may not yet have and being the one to relay that information, to the sports star, the actor, businessman or any other trade, it is always the goal.
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Prov. 14:12)
This is that way, the way of pride that goes before destruction is the way of all who seek for recognition, whether it be within themselves or from others.
“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Eze. 28:17)
It was the path of Satan, and he is more than willing to teach it to all who would know it, but that is really not necessary, for since the fall that seeking for self-recognition is part of our nature, except of course when we believe the fault lies elsewhere.
“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Gen. 3:12)
All of mankind suffers from this malady, but only those who have been shown the truth of it battle against it. Money, power, attractiveness, intelligence, all of these and a thousand other opportunities lie at our doorstep each day. Those who know the truth of Galatians 2:20 understand this battle full well.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
But one must consider these truths as well, when we are blessed by the Almighty with gifts, talents if you like, there is an extremely high probability that that which we abhor will attempt to prevail against that which we know as sin.
I will use myself as an example here.
These short letters when they were first put on YouTube garnered perhaps five or ten views a month, last month there were nearly two thousand.
“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1st Cor. 4:7)
Shall I sing my own praises? That my friends would not only be a terrible sin, but the pinnacle of foolishness.
The Holy Spirit uses me to write them, I hand the page from the notebook to my lovely wife, she graciously types them up for me, and after they are posted online, they are the Lords to do with as He pleases. If the views reached two million, I can rest assured it would not change me, for they are not of me. Not that I have conquered pride, but I have been shown the foolishness of it.
To die to self means more than killing our ambitions, it is more than adjusting our thought processes, it is the death of our ego, it is the continuous battle to destroy both pride and vainglory within us.
“Thy will be done” cannot live in the heart of a man who seeks recognition from others, “Not my will, but thine” has no place in the man who still looks for pride, even within himself.
The love of money is the root of all evil, but that love can only grow in a heart that does not seek first the glory of God.
Pride lifts us up in our minds, vainglory, that pride, that self-recognition from others is a feast sought after daily by the brute beasts of this world, but even blessings from the Almighty can make the most profitable servant fall if they do not remember John 15:5.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
You can wear a crown of rust here, or one of never-ending brilliance throughout all eternity.
It is nothing more than another subtle trap of our adversary, and like all his traps, it must be noticed to be averted. Our ego is not Christ-centered, it is self-centered, and as such it must be put to death.
If you do not strive against it to kill it, the Lord may do it for you.
