Thoughts on 07/04/22 - What is Pride?

This is an issue I've been dwelling on for many many years.  What is Pride?  When is Humility real and when is it just a culturally enforced artificial behaviour?  Am I really Prideful?

I have been accused of being arrogant, but I don't feel it.  Why?  The simplest way to look at it is from the perspective of the sports I do: When I tell you I'm good at Ving Tsun or snowboarding, it's not because I'm boasting, it's because I've been testing this statement and while I am no where near the best, I know I am better than most people.  I don't settle on where I am and continue to seek and learn from all those who are better than me such that I can improve (trust me, my fellow practitioners know), and I'm more than happy to share it with you and help make you better such that you can teach me.  Is it prideful when you're stating fact?

Is it therefore humility when you deny fact?  There's a balance somewhere.

OKay, so I am a bit Prideful and could probably tone it down a bit.  Note taken.  I'm learning how to (more on that later).

So then what could Pride be?  Perhaps it is this:

Pride is:

• when you don't acknowledge what you have are Gifts and cherish them accordingly.
• overextending your Gifts and believing that they are greater than what He has given you.
• using your gifts for your own Glory and not His.

One of the reasons why I do so much is because I value these gifts and try to use them as much as possible.  Of course I've taken quite a beating in the process: physically, mentally and emotionally.  But that is what I need to do.

I'm still learning...  perhaps there is a good story somewhere to corroborate this?