Principle and Pride

March 26, 2019

When a politician or a preacher says, “It’s not the money; it’s the principle of the thing,” you can be sure it’s the money. So said a wag to me some years ago. We humans have an enormous capacity for self-deception, imputing the best of motives to ourselves, and the worst of motives to others. Occasionally that kind of assessment may be correct, but I suspect only rarely. When Martin Luther stood before the Diet of Worms defending his teaching on the authority of Scripture to the clerics gathered to declare him heretic, he finally declared, “Here I stand; I can do no other.” That was principle. On the other side were the priests and scholars whose standard of living depended on the selling of indulgences. That was the money.

It’s not always so clear. Whenever I am tempted to take a hard stand on an issue, I have to ask myself whether it’s principle or pride (In my experience, the issue is rarely money). I would like to be able to say that I stand on the principle of a matter, but I’m suspicious that it is often my pride that makes me take a stand. I don’t like to lose, and like most people, if I take a stand it’s because I think I’m right. That could be principle, but it could also be pride. 

God has ways of cutting through all that, but we have to be listening. Years ago, Linda and I had a rather heated disagreement one morning before I left for work. On the drive to my office, God began nagging me: “Which is more important—for you to be right, or for your relationship to be right?” Of course, I thought I was right, but if I insisted on having my way, even if I were right, I would be wrong. I could have insisted on “the principle of the thing,” but in reality it would have been the pride. God put the laces to me that morning!

The difference between pride and principle is not always easy to ferret out. It requires one to humbly and prayerfully allow the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures to challenge and correct...or confirm. Such challenge, correction, and/or confirmation usually requires some time to simmer before we’re ready to hear it. At least, that’s how it works for me. And if God confirms one’s position, it is not celebrated with a victory dance, but received with a gracious heart. 

I’ve taken today to withdraw, pray, think, and listen. My heart is more at rest than yesterday, but I’m sure there is more God wants to teach me. I’m waiting, and while waiting, thanking God for his patience with this old heart that can be a bit slow on the uptake.