May 2, 2013

Pride and Prejudice (well, maybe more like Pride and Humility)


They say the first step towards recovery is to admit you have a problem. 

I admit it. 

I have a problem. 

I have a problem with pride that has reared its ugly head for a few months now. So last night I laid it all out to the women of my Bible study. We are studying the Book of James and James, man, James does not strive to treat you gently. He will lift you off your feet, shake you like a rag doll, and set you down roughly. And this week, he did me in again.

I have not written for a while and it took some wrestling to figure this out. I don't write consistently. True. I tend to write when something gets a hold of me and I have to put words to it. But lately there have been stories floating around me that I just can't seem to pin down. I'll start one and never finish it. My virtual waste basket is full of wadded pieces of paper with discarded ideas. But it took an ancient writer to confront me and point out the truth to me: you don't write because you don't write like her, her or her.

James has harsh words for jealousy but I sat smug in my chair. That is a illness from which I don't suffer. I don't envy these bloggers. I'm not jealous of them. I celebrate them. I encourage them with comments. I share their sites with my friends. 

But then he got to humility and my smugness turned to conviction.

I have read post after post about not comparing yourself to other writers, about writing the story God gave you, about how even if one life is touched by your words it is worth doing it. I know. I know. I agree. I've uttered those words. And yet... I'm struggling to accept that God can use anything less than this right here

And so, my friends, this is pride. 

"If I cannot write like that, I will not write at all," says my heart stubbornly, in essence denying that God is smart enough to know what gift and to what measure and for what purpose is ours to have.

I know God has called me to write. I know He has given me tools. I know when I write I am changed and I know that some of you also walk away a little different. So why is that not good enough for me? James would not mince words in telling me that it is because I lack humility to accept my place in the Kingdom of God. 

Joan Chittister said that "humility is the admission of God's gifts to me and the acknowledgement that I have been given them for others." Pride is forgetting where those gifts came from but it is also discarding His good gifts and His holy calling in our lives because they are not as important/developed/talent-full/necessary/interesting as other people's.

It was an epiphany. 

I have to stop hiding behind my excuses that I only write when I "feel" it, or that maybe God is not really calling me to write, or that I just don't have the time. The truth is I suffer from pride when it comes to my writing. And the road to recovery will be long because those amazing writers are still out there writing away. Temptation to compare and to desist will keep coming. But I took the first step and it was tough: I admitted it. And not just to myself. To a room full of women who know me.

The cure for what ails me is a dose of humility. And there is nothing more humbling that to speak it out loud: I am prideful.

So here is to step two: hit "publish" and pray for the Lord to continue to teach me who He's called me to be.

20 comments:

amy clarkson said...

So well put.... something that absolutely speaks to me, as I struggle with this exact thing. Way to be humble and share! Comparison is the bane of God given gifts. May you and I and all others be rid of it!

Gaby said...

Thank you, friend. I love your stories. You have a way of bringing me to the side of that dying bed and filling me with compassion for its occupant.

Christy said...

You and me both! Thanks for this reminder!

Traci Huggins said...

Great reminder girl! Thank you for making me reflect on my prideful (as I typically refer to, stubborn) ways...

Debbie said...

Excellent writing, excellent teaching! God's mercies are new every morning, and every morning we need new mercy. Keep at it, you have much to offer. I wish the Bible studies could continue...

Gaby said...

Hey, Traci. I think this so can apply to many other areas in our lives. I know writing is only one of mine!

Gaby said...

Thanks, Christy. I know your heart :)

Gaby said...

Thank you, Debbie. I am definitely going to miss the studies as well. Preparing to teach has helped me grow more than anything else. Thank you for your kind words.

Maria said...

I told you that you are an excellent writer. You are honest, thought provoking and point us to Our Father. It can't get much that!

Maria said...

The last sentence of my previous comment is supposed to say "It can't get much better than that!" Obviously, I'm not called to be a writer:)

soulstops said...

Dear Gaby,
What you just wrote was the epitome of brave and awesome writing because you expressed what so many feel...I have to constantly remind myself to write because God called me to write and to not compare...So glad you wrote this, my brave and beautiful friend :)

Kathleen Jaeger said...

Gaby, I can so relate to this post, especially as an irregular blogger myself! It has been since March 12 that I have posted anything. This is a challenge. And I would put you in my list of I don't write like her....that to say. I love your words and your perspective and would love to hear them more often. Be ecnouraged that you have a voice and a message.



Also, it is not just in my writing journey that I find that I have to not compare myself -- but also in my homeschool journey, my weight loss journey....many are the places that I compare myself to others! Yikes. A snare.



Thanks for the provocative post...lots of love to you...Kathleen

Gaby said...

Thank you, Kathleen, you are so sweet. I agree: this post is about writing but the comparing does not stop at the keyboard. Comparing ourselves kills our joy in the Lord and his work in our lives. Let's just stop, ok? :)

Gaby said...

Thank you, Dolly! Yes, keep writing because your words are full of wisdom.

Gaby said...

I knew what you meant :) Thank you, Maria. You are such a sweet encourager.

Mary Jo Brunner said...

Keep writing, dear one...Your words are gift; filled with grace and pain and the real-ness of what it means to be a human being. I am honored to walk this path with you and experience the blessings (easy and hard) that come with being a woman of faith.

Kathleen Jaeger said...

Amen! Let's just stop comparing ourselves to each other.

Gaby said...

Thank you, MJ. You are always so encouraging!

Debbie said...

Oh Gaby, you just hit the nail right smack dab on my head!! I have been struggling with the exact same thing. For you to point out the self worthlessness is nothing but good old fashioned envy was obviously what God wanted me to hear right now. I have stared at black pages for months. I have left posts sitting in the hopper for months. I have done all that and avoided writing what is on my heart at times because I don't feel that what I have to say is said like my own "hers".


Thank you for your honesty. I will join you with mine.

Gaby said...

Thank you, Debbie. I want you to know that you are one of my "hers" (I had several but for the sake of space I listed only a few). I love your blog because you are funny, insightful, poignant, and creative. Please keep writing!