God's Strength, Not Our Own

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 18 BCP 233)

"Pride" is one of those words in today's world which has a lot of connotations. We can talk about the healthy pride of having accomplished something, we can talk about LGBTQ Pride which is about self and social acceptance, we can talk about unhealthy pride or sinful pride when we put ourselves ahead of others in destructive ways. The Collect for this coming Sunday specifies the kind of pride meant when it prays, "the proud who confide in their own strength."

The old proverb, "Pride comes before a fall" is an abbreviation of a Proverb from the Bible. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18 is talking about the unhealthy and sinful pride which puts the self before all others. In the ancient days, society was more communally constructed, so personal pride was a big problem for the community. When people put themselves first, someone else was going to get hurt. 

Today, we live in a much more individualistic world. There are some things we can take pride in for having accomplished on our own. However, in our communities, pride is still a destructive force. We can see this happening on a national level. As we pray the words of the Collect this Sunday and remember that everything we do, we do through Christ and with Christ's strength. We cannot trust in our personal strength alone, but we can trust in God with all our hearts.