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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, I hope persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and please return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader,
Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Brian encourages support of the 4-Star Christian organization Compassion, which supports children worldwide; see www.compassion.com .
Scripture
10Pride leads to conflict;
those who take advice are wise.
*Proverbs 13.10, NLT
Spiritual Teaching
Many a humble soul will be amazed to find that the seed it sowed in weakness, in the dust of daily life, has blossomed into immortal flowers under the eye of the Lord.
*Harriet Beecher Stowe
* * *
There were two rich merchants living in the same town. Both enjoyed showing off their wealth. One day one of them visited the other. He noticed the other merchant had a big house three stories high. He noticed that everyone in town was much impressed with the house and said how great it was.
On returning home that merchant was not happy the other merchant got so much more attention than he. So, he hired the architect who built the other merchant's house to build him one of three stories high. The architect started the work.
A few days later, this merchant went to visit the construction site. When he saw workers digging land to prepare for the foundation, he went to see the architect. He asked what was happening. "I am constructing a three stories high house as per our contract," replied the architect. "But, first, I have to prepare a solid foundation, then build the first floor, second floor, and, last, the third floor."
"I do not want anything else, I just want the third floor right away, as high as the other merchant's house," spoke the merchant. "Never mind the foundation or the other floors." "That cannot be done." replied the architect. "Then I'll hire someone else to do it," spoke the merchant. Yet no one was found able to build a house with no foundation and just a third floor. The project was never done.
* * *
This story, from a Sutra attributed to the Buddha, is a wise tale about the power and unreasonableness of pride. Pride is more concerned about how one appears to other persons than how one really is. Pride looks to accolades, rather than being content with the unobserved virtue and unnoticed good deed.
* * *
Proverbs 13.10 reminds us pride is unteachable and argumentative, causing disunity and factions: “Pride leads to arguments; those who take advice are wise.” (NLT)
Once, I was accused of having an illicit sexual relationship. I did not even know the name of the woman I was "supposed" to have had this with. I had not been around her more than five to ten minutes. I had exchanged words and kindness, for she worked where I bought groceries, but I do that wherever I go. Despite my pleadings of innocence, I was still "guilty." I gave up contending my innocence. Several months later, I was told by the accuser I was innocent of the previous accusation. No apology was given for this hurtful accusation against my character. I can only wonder at whom else was informed of my "guilt" before the person concluded I was wrongly accused.
This is an example of the pride the Proverbs writer speaks of, a pride that chooses to refuse to hear the appeal of another person, a pride that must be right, a pride that will not even say, "Well, okay, let us talk about this together, trying to understand each other. Then, we can hopefully come to understanding." Pride says, "I must be right, even if my being right is degrading to others."
Yet, I am not alone in enduring this kind of attack on character. This is common, and I have found it common within churches, where rumors begin, rumors harmful to a person's reputation, but persons often seem to relish listening and sharing some damaging gossip. Pride.
* * *
Proverbs 16.17-19 teaches us that humbleness of heart with poverty is better than sharing wealth with the arrogant: “The path of the upright leads away from evil (or, harm); whoever follows that path is safe. Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. It is better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.” (NLT)
* * *
Where does this pridefulness come from? Jesus, speaking to his disciples in Mark's Gospel, says:
... What comes out of a person makes him dirty. Here is what comes from the heart: wrong thoughts, all kinds of adultery, stealing, killing, wanting things that other people have, doing very wrong things, fooling people, breaking the law, jealousy, saying wrong things about people, being proud, being foolish. All these wrong things come from a person's heart and make him dirty.
*Mark 7.20-23, WE
Pride comes from the heart, the center of affect and will. Pride is inordinate love for oneself. Pride is a misdirection of the will: rather than honoring the Good, that is God, one seeks to appear to others more good than he or she is. To do this, sometimes, we may try to make another person appear worse than he or she is, to make them appear less good than we are. Possibly, we each have been guilty of this.
* * *
In praying rightly our heart will be humbled before the One who humbled himself for us in the Incarnation. We shall prove, then, the spiritual principle that in making ourselves lowly, we know being lifted up rightly and honorably:
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
*I Peter 5.5-7, ESV
* * *
One of the chief areas pride manifests among religious persons is resistance to new ideas, including truths in other paths. This is not conviction alone, such as I am just holding to my convictions. This stubborn insistence on only “my way” is pride. Pride is the root of tribal faith: the inclosed mentality that shuts out all others as wrong, with only one hope, joining our tribe. That, again, is pride, not love. Love is always humble and teachable.
Last, humbleness does not mean degrading yourself, being weak, or allowing others to abuse you. However, humbleness may choose to allow oneself to be abused without retaliating. Jesus shows us this allowance within his strength of humility. Humbleness might allow itself to be seen as weak. Still, that is not essentially weakness, but strength. Again, Jesus shows us this willingness to appear weak.
Responding
1. Do you detect any area of your life where you struggle with pride?
2. Define pride in your own words? Define humbleness in your own words?
3. Reflect meditatively on I Peter 5.5-7. What are some ways you can practice the injunction "humble yourselves"? What does it mean to you that God "gives grace to the humble"?
4. How may you "clothe" yourself "with humility" toward other persons in your family? Faith community? Your friends?
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, with friends and under a vow of simplicity. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, who chooses not to identify with any group, and renounces all titles of sacredness that some would apply to him, but seeks to be open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He affirms that all spiritual paths lead ultimately back to Jesus Christ. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for preaching, Spiritual Direction, retreats, workshops, animal blessing services, house blessings, or other spiritual requests. You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
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