The price of a good heart

In the never ending pursuit of a healthy heart, Lisa has graduated me from just better eating to the 30 Day Shred and, now, the P90X fitness program. It's for that reason that I found myself in the floor of our bonus room last night, my body contorted into shapes and forms that I didn't know were physically possible. (I heard "downward facing dog" so many times I thought I would puke) At one point, I was on my head (literally) both feet high up in the air, trying my best to stop laughing at myself because I was afraid I might pull something...uh, something else. But I made it through and, today, I'm feeling pretty good about myself. It is, after all, the price you pay for a good heart.

This morning, I was thinking about another aspect of the heart--one that is equally as deadly as the plaque that can build up in your arteries. Pride, just like a clogged artery, can sneak up on you and leave you paralyzed before you ever know it's there. It chokes your ability to hear from God, skews your rational thinking and has the potential to ravage your personal relationships. English writer and critic, John Ruskin once wrote, "In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes."

So, how do we battle pride? Might I suggest a little stretching? Seriously. Stretch yourself. Take journeys to places you've never been. Read things (particularly the Bible) that challenge your thinking. Ask others to be honest and rate your humility...and then humbly hear what they have to say. Look at the world from a different view (I recommend God's) and let it stretch the way you think and feel. Finally, the best stretch of all, on your knees. Because humility is granted to those who will seek it, ask for it, desire it from God. I call that stretch "the downward kneeling follower." GRIN

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 NIV