They appear to be indistinguishable,
Because to us, they're indeterminable. 1
They both share the same taproot:
Godly faith we 'gave the boot’.
With Godly faith corrupted,
From its root, pride erupted!
The Lord gave us a measure of faith to believe Him,
But satan’s crew convinced us, The Lord’s Glory to dim.
As leverage, they played upon our selfish nature.
Deceived, it’s since been our own glory that we nature.
The Lord is faithful to beat devils at their game!
Thus, He will not allow His faith to be defamed.
In His Word, He cites ‘faith’ much more than ‘pride’,
And affirms from it, His Glory won’t hide! 2
Pride glorifies self and stirs strife among faith’s enemies.
Thus, it’ll eventually attract The Lord’s enmity.
Godly faith glorifies Him, and will attract His Glory,
Which might only be perceived by people He calls, ‘holy’.
So to the astute among us, do you ‘see’ what I ‘see’,
How between faith and pride, we can discern accurately??
With Godly patience, all we really need to do,
Is wait to perceive His …ensuing Glory hue. 3
Since from the same taproot, faith and pride sprout,
On the surface, they look alike, no doubt!
We can’t see people’s hearts, but this we certainly see,
Their words and actions …serving whom they serve, fruitfully. 4
Pride, the taproot of Godly faith to us, sin-defective,
Whether stealthy or boisterous, it’s highly deceptive.
Godly faith that remains pure, by Heaven is admired,
Will likely, by those who are un-Godly, be bemired. 5
So let’s stay attuned to The Lord’s accent on faith,
Leaving the results to Him, and give pride no place.
As we do, keep in mind what He says we CAN be proud about:
His Grace, judgment, and righteousness, Earth will never be without! 6
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1 Godly faith is faith in The Holy Trinity and Their Word. Selfish pride is faith in self, apart from all things holy. The both stem from our heart’s deep-seated motivations, which onlookers cannot easily or always clearly discern.
2 Ponder this: The words, faith and pride, are cited 695 versus 55 times, respectively, in The Bible. (NKJV). Moreover, there are countless examples in which Godly faith is actively demonstrated, and gloriously rewarded, though the word, faith, is not mentioned therein.
3 See: What’s Glory? (Series).
4 We cannot ignore or discount the clear links between Godly faith and fear. Essentially, they are the same spiritual force or energy. Fear is Godly faith, moving in reverse, operating contrary to The Lord’s intended design.
5 Ponder this: The Bible is literally chock full of historical accounts in which Godly faith was regarded as selfish pride by onlookers, especially by folks who were un-Godly, and even folks who were like babes, spiritually. As a man, Jesus attracted incredible scorn and derision from Jewish leaders who were well-schooled in Old Testament laws, to the point that they schemed to have Him crucified by Rome! How’s that for a gross failure to discern Godly faith?! So don’t worry about people today, believers or sinners alike, who may be motivated to deride your Godly faith. Just wait for The Lord’s GLORY to be revealed …in you and in what you do faithfully and in earnest for Him, and the Glory of His Kingdom.
6 Thus says The Lord: ‘Let not the wise person glory (be prideful) in his wisdom, let not the mighty person glory in his might, nor let the rich person glory in his riches; but let him/her who glories, glory in this, that he/she understands and knows Me, that I am The Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the Earth. For in these I delight’, says The Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NKJV) To whom has The Lord directed His ‘Let…’ commands?? I thought I knew, until this happened…Missed Insights from Jeremiah 9.
That I do. Do you, too? This is my favorite Scripture. Gratefully, a gracious lady offered to design and gift to me, unique version of verse 24, in the form of a Morse code-beaded bracelet. I now wear it proudly as an abiding reminder of The Lord’s command, glorying in Him and His presence in my life. See: WearATouchofSpirit.com.
