Pride, Humility and Moms Who Need God
- Cathrine Schmelzer
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
“But humility lies in our willingness to humble ourselves and lean on God.”
“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.' Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:7-10 (NIV)
Our culture today tells moms that we can DO IT ALL. We can totally raise 2.5 perfectly well-rounded, polite children, have great marriages, keep a tidy and well organized home, and work 40 hours a week. Our lives can look just like those moms on social media, and if they do, then we should be proud of all we have accomplished. Do we need to ask for help? Of course not! Should we let others know if we’re struggling? Where would be the pride in that?
Culture lies to us, though. Pride happens when we think we can do everything on our own without God.
Pride can manifest in striving to be the perfect social media mom, but it can also manifest in the opposite kind of mom. Those moms who never have it together, their 3-year-olds usually have something sticky on their face, the laundry room is always full of unfolded laundry, the sink is usually full of dishes. In case you didn’t catch on… I’m writing from experience here. I don’t pride myself on “having it all together”, rather sometimes live in the insecurity that I’m “less than” those other moms. But that is pride just the same. It leads me to guilt and shame, leaving me with the insecurity that I could or should be doing more. And in that guilt, shame, and insecurity, I’m still relying on myself (and failing) instead of on God.
The world wants us to take pride in our ability to handle everything, to be self-reliant, and to never ask for help. But humility lies in our willingness to humble ourselves and lean on God. Humility is letting go of the social media picture of perfection and the need to hide our struggles. Humility is letting go of the guilt, acknowledging that we cannot do it all, that we have limitations, and that we need God.
Humility is a heart posture of submission to God. In humility, we are ready to receive God’s love and grace as He works through the pride and sin in our hearts. Being humble mothers requires trust and means that we step aside, let God do His thing, and then give God all the glory and credit.
Faith Follow-Through:
This week, take some time to grow in motherhood and faith:
Monday:
After reading today’s devotional, let this truth sink in. Spend some time reflecting and praying on this topic. Buckle up moms, because this month MMF is going to dive deep into the topic of pride and humility in motherhood.
Tuesday:
Dive deeper into the topic of pride and humility in motherhood by listening to the new podcast episode. Amy, Kelsey, Cydnee, and Phyllis have a real conversation about how pride and humility affect our mothering, and how to practically walk in humility.
Wednesday:
The podcast talks about how we can practically transform pride into humility in our daily mom lives. The first step is to involve God. Today, ask yourself when the last time you asked God for His input was. In what areas of your life do you need to invite God into? Read Proverbs 11:2.
Thursday:
Real talk here, this topic is actually really hard for me. Not necessarily because I have a lot of pride in my life (or maybe I do??), but because I find it hard to recognize the pride in my life. Maybe you have the same problem. Today, I encourage you to spend some time with God, asking Him to point out what you have been prideful about, what you’ve been keeping to yourself, not allowing Him in. Humble yourself, ask Him to speak to you, to show you, because trying to figure out your own pride is the same as trying to figure everything out on your own.
