Taking the Pride Test

James 4:7-10 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5 – Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Perhaps a bit of self-examination will help. Consider each of the following statements and score yourself this way:

Always—5 points
Frequently—4 points
Sometimes—3 points
Rarely—2 points
Never—0 points

  1. In conversations I prefer speaking about myself or having others talk about me rather than listening about other people.
  2. In most situations I am thinking about how things will benefit me, reflect on me, or work in my favor.
  3. If I’m honest, when making decisions I tend to do what I think is best for me rather than what would glorify God.
  4. When someone says I have hurt or offended them, I tend to think they are the one with the problem.
  5. When good things happen for other people, I tend to get jealous and have a hard time being happy for them.
  6. I desire a lot of attention and affirmation.
  7. I think I’m generally better than most people.
  8. I am not a generous person and am more prone to take than to give.
  9. I feel like the world would be a better place if people just agreed with the way I think they should behave.
  10. I have a hard time not winning and am an overly competitive person.
  11. It is more common for people to serve me than for me to serve them.
  12. It bothers me when I do something good and do not receive credit for it.
  13. I have a hard time giving compliments to others, speaking well of others, and honoring others.
  14. I feel like certain menial tasks are below me and should be done by someone else.
  15. I hide my Christian convictions when I am with people who might disagree with me, judge me, or reject me.
  16. I have a hard time taking orders, receiving correction, or being under authority.
  17. I think about myself more than I think about God and other people.
  18. I prefer to be the teacher informing others rather than the student who is learning.
  19. I care a lot about how I appear to others—my appearance, possessions, and people with whom I associate.
  20. I tend to brag about myself and criticize others.

On a scale of 0–100, how did you score? How much work do you have to do?

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

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