Proverbs 13: 10 says, “Only by pride cometh contention…”I
had an interesting experience just yesterday with pride. I had just spent two hours finishing my
reading for this week's class on pride and planned on taking the reading quiz right after so
the information was fresh in my mind. My
husband was planning on watching a webinar on his laptop and his laptop stopped
working so he needed to get on my computer right away. I got a little upset over this because I needed
to take the quiz now. I had a party I
had to go to and would not be home for two hours. So I said something like,
“OK, use it but then I will have to reread the information again so that I can take
the quiz in two hours from now.” Then I
went and started washing dishes that no one had done from the night before. My husband told me he would wash the dishes
and I said something like “I want them washed now, not two hours from now. They
should have been washed last night.” My
husband then complained I was making too much noise so he couldn’t watch the
webinar anyway and he would do the dishes so I could just go do my quiz. We argued over that for a while, but I took
the quiz and 30 minutes later had to go to the party. I decided that I was not
going to say goodbye to my husband before I left. My pride would just not let me. I wanted him to know that I was angry. The natural woman in me took over. But then, fortunately, I just couldn’t do
it. Before I left the house I ended up
kissing my husband goodbye. But boy, my pride really wanted me to just leave
without saying anything.
I’ve never thought of myself as being prideful. I wouldn’t
say that I am self-centered, conceited, boastful, or haughty, but as President Ezra Taft Benson put it, “All of these are elements of the sin (of pride), but the heart,
or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity-enmity toward
God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means hatred toward, hostility to
or a state of opposition. It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over
us.” Whew, so glad Satan did not win that battle. This experience with pride
took me by surprise, since I had just read President Benson’s words and Brother
Goddard’s words, I realized what was going on. But I wonder how many times that
sneaky, little pride that causes contention in my home creeps in and I don’t
even realize it. So what can I do to not let pride, which causes contention, come into my heart and into my marriage?
1. Pray– Ask God for help. Sometimes the hostility is too close and emotions are high and it can be impossible to let it go unless you ask God for help.
2. Repent – I learned from Goddard that my husband will annoy me at times and I am not going to change him so I can “leave the relationship, smolder in sullen resentment or repent. God recommends repentance.”
3. Choose to be humble – The antidote for pride is humility. We do not always know our partners hearts or God’s purposes. Be open to learn from God and our partner.
4. Appreciate my spouse for what he does for me rather than for what he doesn’t always do.
5. Be compassionate toward my spouse rather than irritated with him.
The fact that
pride can creep so easily into a marriage frightens me. There are so many little pride games that
couples play that can be devastating to a marriage. This is another trick of Satan’s to break up
marriages. It is so important to:
BEWARE OF PRIDE.
BEWARE OF PRIDE.
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