The first advice I would give to those who have been saved from sin by grace is to watch and pray continually against pride. For it is pride not only to ascribe what we have to ourselves, but also to think we have what we do not have.
One way to [be clothed with humility] is to own any fault we have. If you have at any time thought, spoken, or acted wrong, do not refrain from acknowledging it. Never dream that this will hurt the cause of God - in fact, it will further it.
Also, beware of the daughter of pride: enthusiasm. By enthusiasm I mean the tendency to hastily ascribe everything to God, supposing dreams and voices and visions to be special revelations that God has given to you. . . . You are in danger of enthusiasm every time you depart even a little from the Scriptures. . . . One general inlet to enthusiasm is expecting the end without the means: expecting knowledge, for instance, without searching the Scriptures and consulting other people of God, or expecting spiritual strength without constant prayer and steady watchfulness, or expecting God to bless you without hearing the word of God at every opportunity.
When we take a fresh teaching from the Scriptures to heart, we must not conclude that it is a "new" gift. We have all of these things when we are justified; all that remains is that we experience them in higher degrees.
Settle in your heart that from this moment on you will aim at nothing more than that love described in the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. You can go no higher than this.
Be slow to speak. It is said, "In a multitude of words sin abounds." Try not to talk too much, or for a long time. Not many people can converse profitably beyond an hour's time.
Let the language of your heart sing out with regard to pleasure or pain, riches or poverty, honor or dishonor, "All's alike to me, so I in my Lord may live or die!"
Do not despise or run down any preacher. Do not exalt anyone above the rest lest you hurt both him and the cause of God.
Do not give even a single thought of separating from your brethren, whether their opinions agree with yours or not. Just because someone does not agree with everything you say does not mean they are sinning. Nor is this or that opinion essential to the work of God. Be patient with those who disagree with you. (pp. 258-261)
Love is patient; love is kind. (1 Corinthians 13:4)Religious pride is perhaps the worst. Doing seemingly "good" things with a continual eye toward oneself and other people's reactions quickly destroys whatever good may come from the action. Even worse, it drives people away from the cause or the God that you claim to serve. As with the Jews Paul had to deal with: "The name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." (Romans 2:24)
Because of the stench of such pride, I have found it tempting to join the many who have ejected all religiosity from their lives. I have sought to follow God in a purely "spiritual" manner, which seems to include no "religion." Of course, no such "purity" exists. Since I am embodied, I need to serve God through this body as well as in a social context. I cannot somehow shake them off except by some sort of denial. If I reject one form of religion, I will quickly put on another, even if its of my own making.
Even worse, I have thought that the answer to religious pride was to "not worry" too much about my sins. Somehow in my fear of being prideful, I thought that "not worrying" about certain sins might keep me humble. I think the reasoning would go something like this: Jesus came to die for my sins so that I wouldn't have to try to deal with them, since I can't. Trying to overcome sin in my life is to deny that Jesus' death is sufficient to cover my sins. Since, of course, we cannot just let sin spin out of control, there are limits to what is allowed and what is not if I say I'm "trying my best." This leads to all sorts of hypocrisy and confusion.
The best understanding of sin is that it comes from pride. Sin does not lead to humility, but to arrogance and self-centeredness. Fundamentally, the best way to fight sin, then, is through humility. Wesley's suggestions are focused on religious pride and the humility that will defeat it. Pride of any sort cannot be fought head-on, which is why Wesley's suggestions are not ones in which I learn to despise myself (also a form of pride because of its self-centeredness) so much as see myself correctly. Pride inflates my view of myself until I am my own god or at least all I am paying attention to. Humility deflates my self-importance until I can serve the true God.
The response to pride is not "I'm just a miserable sinner!", but "I am a recovering sinner living daily by God's grace" and "God has plans for me into eternity." Pride leads to sin. Humility leads to God. Humility is developed through submitting to what comes my way as God's plan for my salvation, knowing that he is sufficient to deliver and comfort me in pain, and happy and rejoicing with what goes well. Humility is the practice of living by grace and in the Spirit rather than by "making it work" and relying on my status and abilities apart for God (the flesh).
Compassion as a sub-category of religion suffers from the same difficulties. Pride makes compassion a stench through pretended self-righteousness, run-away enthusiasm, departing from the Scriptures, and a sense that philanthropy excuses me from the love of those near to me. The only way to avoid such degradation is through the humility of living in God's grace. I mean learning how to rely on God's grace and the power of his Spirit more than on my own abilities and talents. Only then can the "widow's mite" become far more worthy and powerful than the seemingly large sums that others put in for their own glory.
Lord, I am moved to open my arms to your grace. Your forgiveness extends far out beyond relieving my guilt. Your forgiveness is a wave that carries me into righteousness and obedience. Such grace is what I need to put my pride to death. I want to do so by learning to rely on you showing up in my many times of need. Teach me the expectation of your grace and grow my distrust of pride. Let this lesson deepen my love for you and for others in my life. Amen.
I think I see a a new way of practicing my "religion." These things are meant to teach me patience and eager expectation of God's grace. I can see why I need not "try so hard" at them, but let them assist me through trials.
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