We All Fall Down
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18
You would not believe what happened to me on Sunday morning. As Jason and I were headed out the door for church, I was making some unkind remarks about a certain person who is disorganized to the point of constantly losing and forgetting things. "That's why I'm holding on to these," I remarked. "Not that I never lose or forget anything, but I'm much more likely to be able to keep up with them." And with that, we got in the truck and headed to church. When we arrived, I received a humbling blow to my pride.
As we unloaded the truck, I looked around for my computer bag. It wasn't in the truck. I had loaded the truck, and I distinctly remembered grabbing it, didn't I? We searched and searched, but to no avail. I had forgotten to grab the computer bag which meant that the powerpoint presentation I had worked up for Sunday School was going to go unseen. Not only that, but I was going to have to rework my lesson since I was counting on having the powerpoint. It's going to be one of those days, I thought, but the day had only begun.
As we returned to the truck after unloading my other Sunday School materials, Jason asked about his coat. I remembered seeing his coat hanging on the chin up bar at the house, but I had assumed that Jason would grab it. He didn't, and neither did I. Great! No computer. No coat. But wait, the lesson in pride was still not over.
I walked over to the church building and set down my bags. I was immediately met by the song leader who inquired about the CD's I was supposed to make for him. "Sure," I replied. "I made them yesterday. They're right here in my bag." Only, they weren't. I remembered putting them in my bag (at least I thought I did), but I tore that bag apart, and they just weren't there. "They're probably in the computer bag," I snarled as my frustration rose.
After informing the song leader that I didn't have the CD's after all, I flopped down on my pew. It was then that I heard/felt that still small voice. "Tell me again how perfect you are." OUCH! You want to know what's really bad? The series I'm teaching on in Sunday School is on pride. It's entitled "It's Not About Me." I could have used to let that lesson sink in a little better on Sunday, huh?
Thankfully, everything worked out. Due to power outages in some of the Sunday School rooms, all of the adult classes were combined, so I didn't have to teach. The CD's weren't urgent, as it turned out. And Jason was more comfortable without his coat anyway. But, man did I feel bad! I am constantly amazed at how blind I can sometimes be to my own sins. I'm thankful for a God who loves me enough to point them out to me. Not to condemn me, but so that I can make things right. Now, I just need to learn to pay attention better so that I can prevent falling in the the first place. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get some serious road rash.