Unbound, Yet Bound
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Pride comes in all shapes and sizes, all colours and textures. It is like a debilitating disease that spreads and contaminates all spheres of a person's life from the physical to the spiritual, the social to the mental, nourished by insignificant whims such as the craving for social status and recognition or the aspiration to create oneself a reputation. We have permitted pride to so encroach into our lives that not only are we incapable of identifying it, we are far from getting to grips with how to deal with it. We will identify and analyze some of the diverse forms of pride we are already subject to and those we are likely to encounter, perhaps even experience in our earthly sojourn and passage. Pride, like it or not, believe it or not, has been one overpowering major point of decay in and the spiritual demise of many Christians, regardless of denominational affiliation. Pride has long been a very prickly thorn in the flesh. Joy is in overcoming; overcoming can only be present when there are trials and tribulations, otherwise how would we know and appreciate the salvation of the Lord? Trials and hardships serve only to purify our characters as gold is purified in fire. When the goldsmith is satisfied with the purity of the gold, he then takes it out of the furnace; so should it be with us when we find ourselves faced with or trapped by the deceiving allurements of pride as we journey through this wretched world. We should not assume that the `fire' is there to burn us but to purify us, to make pure gold, perfect Christians, of us; otherwise we can never rise above the trials. God permits trials and temptations to come our way so as to strengthen us, so that we can experience real joy - the joy of overcoming - only through Him, of course. 1Peter 1:6-7, In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith -- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire -- may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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About the Book
Man has been known to be a creature naturally resistant to change. He will resist change of anything that to him constitutes a comfort zone, a niche, a power base, or a stronghold—be it environmental, social, physiological, cultural, spiritual, or whatever else. This resistance can stem from a myriad of causes, but we will discuss one of the major ones—pride, as equated to arrogance, stubbornness, self-centeredness. This study will be centred on highlighting the causes and effects of this particular ‘vice’, and how Romans 12:2, which is an imperative personal prerequisite for any Christian before they can begin to contemplate espousing the great commission or the greatest commandments or even attaining the kingdom of eternal life, is not possible for as long as this pride is present in any man. The importance and relevance of embracing and effecting change as pointed out in Romans 12:2 cannot be overemphasised. And pride is the major stumbling block.
About the Author
Works of accredited ministers of the gospel, who present it from a learned, pedagogic, trained minister's standpoint, abound but, a lot of times not resonating with the untrained readers. Lee, not being a trained minister, would like to present this work from a simplistic layman's point of view, at the simple level of the ordinary reader. He wants to communicate with the reader in lay terms that they can easily associate or identify with, without the encumbrance of terminologies that require deciphering. Where some pedagogy occurs, it is presented as a choice, to read or not to read, as it may not necessarily affect the flow or understanding of the material presented.