Pastor Ed Moreno

By Pastor Ed Moreno

About thirty-two years ago, I was asked to speak at a Baccalaureate service for seniors of a Christian high school and their parents.

This was during a period of my early ministry when everything was going really well, and to be honest I was beginning to think I was “all that.”  Yep, I was fairly taken with myself and I arrived at the high school pretty much expecting to “wow” the crowd.

The guy who introduced me as the guest speaker said a lot of nice things about me and commended me to the audience.

I stepped up to the podium with a whole lot of pride in my heart.  My words and my body language basically assured the teens and parents that I agreed with everything that the guy who introduced me had just said.  The air of arrogance emitting from me could not be missed.

Because of this unmistakable manifestation of pride, the audience immediately left me, and so did the empowerment of God’s Holy Spirit.  And so, for the next twenty minutes, I choked down about fifty pounds of humble pie.

The situation was such that I also had to stay for the reception and fellowship time after the service, at which no one spoke to me.  It was an absolutely unbearable evening and a life lesson that I never want to be retaught.

That night, I learned first-hand the truth of Jesus’ words found in Luke 14:11, where he says: “For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.”

You know, one does not have to study the Bible for very long before he/she realizes that human pridefulness does not sit well with God.

How are you handling pride in your life?  Have you had to eat any humble pie lately?

New Day Christian Church meets Sundays at 9:30 and 11 a.m.  They are located at 7155 Hamner Avenue, at Schleisman Road, next to the Fire Station.  For more information, call (951) 278-8367, or visit http://www.newdaycc.net.