Because our trash collectors come through our neighborhood about six in the morning most everyone puts their trash out the prior evening. As we came home this evening my wife spotted a wonderful chest one of our neighbors was throwing away. “Oh,” she said, “I would like to have that.”
I like to get my wife things she likes, especially if it is free. Therefore, I decided just as soon as it got dark I would retrieve that wonderful chest. I could not bring myself to get it during daylight lest my neighbors think of me as a dumpster diver. Isn’t pride something? My pride cost me. When I went for it, it was gone. Another neighbor beat me to it. Apparently it was someone with a bit less pride than I.
Ever since I was a boy I wondered about Acts 26:28. “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, ‘Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.’” Did Agrippa not accept Jesus because he was not intellectually convinced or was it a matter of pride. Did he think he might lose some personal status with other dignitaries if he responded positively to Paul? I don’t know. But, what I do know is Agrippa missed out on the best thing ever offered to any person. He missed an offer to live forever.
I hope none of us ever allow our pride to interfere with our eternal future. We must never be ashamed to acknowledge Jesus. If we do acknowledge Him, He will acknowledge us before the Father. That’s a promise. See Matthew 10:32
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 10, 2003
Spring of Life, 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453