Self love is at the root of pride, including spiritual pride….. and pride is bound up in the ego and self-ishness of mankind.
The Lord Jesus knows our hearts, and this is just one of the many blessed words our Lord had to say about spiritual pride. I hope you will take the time to watch the video, it is a true blessing.
” He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
Spiritual Abuse Sanctuary 
Guilty, as charged.
Most of us either are…. or have been at one point in time, sister. Unfortunately, the worst offenders are those who know the most, and are the most “seasoned” in the Word and/or experience. I’m simply amazed that the Lord has put up with me all this time. Truth be told, we don’t know nearly as much as we think we do and haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what He wants us to know …. most generally those things hidden in the deeper parts of OUR heart that He wants to deal with and remove. You know…the nasty stuff we don’t even want to look at or acknowledge about ourselves. Ouch~! In other words, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling…..not somebody elses 🙂
Be blessed,
Scarlett
So, consider Job, the Book of. Turns out the goal in this story is for Job to lose religious pride?
Fighting Leviathan, With a Puny Wooden Sword!
By Robert Winkler Burke
Book #8 of In That Day Teachings
Copyright 5/25/11 http://www.inthatdayteachings.com
Notes from Nelson’s Quick Reference Bible Dictionary:
“The book of Job is not only one of the most remarkable in the Bible, but in literature. As was said of Goliath’s sword, ‘There is none like it,’ none in ancient or in modern literature.” – Kitto. “A book which will one day, perhaps, be seen towering up alone far above all the poetry of the world.” – J. A. Froude. Nelson’s comments say that the true identity of who wrote Job has remained throughout time: a mystery.
“Do not break the person, break his desire to attack you. Provide the illusion that your opponent still has control, but make sure he does not.” – Mikhail Ryabko, Russian Martial Art Systema Master
I must not hurt huge Leviathan,
As it swoops down on me!
Dragon’s flame kills and maims,
I’ll soon be history!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
Yet, I must not hurt Leviathan,
Its skin is tough and brittle!
His pride is ridiculous big,
And I am less than little!
We fight for hours,
Oh, we fight for days on end!
Then, when it’s over,
The beast gets up again!
My puny wooden sword damages it not,
I’m like a grasshopper against a giant!
Then it lays down, coughs up its heart,
Upon its tongue, now on me: reliant!
Leviathan now relies on me,
To treat its heart with care!
No longer enemies, but fast friends,
I approach on God’s dare!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
With my too-small wooden sword,
I walk into the danger zone, such biting teeth of dread!
To the heart, now on the tongue,
I gently touch my sword, out gush bright drops of red!
From the sword come good drops,
Of God’s ancient-wisdom self-sacrifice,
Then Beast wakes up changed,
Swallows heart and renews its old vice!
Cruelly taking advantage of my nearness,
Leviathan scorches me in full-blown rage!
I fight him off again with wooden sword,
Behold! Beast doth weaken! says my Page.
For my Page greatly knows what’s going on,
Not long ago, HE was THE bad Leviathan!
You see, we fought for years! Way too long!
His dual was an excruciating marathon!
But after a thousand drops from God’s cross,
My Page was, of Beast, set free!
Now he’s learning to be God’s Man-of-War,
Who fights evil, just like me!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
After days and months and years,
My Page and I have succeeded!
Leviathan whom we fought,
Is full humble now: defeated!
My Page has become a Swordsman,
That Leviathan: HIS own Page,
I have left off sword for pen,
That you understand this age!
So then, pride of religion and its blinding selfish-rigidness,
Is killing man!
Just as loving kindness, humility, patience and flexibility,
Kills Leviathan!
Job learned this In That Day,
Of his: long ago!
Now we must all learn the same!
You do not know?
Holy flexibility,
Is where Christ-in-You is at!
You’ll remember the fight,
When the Rigid lose all that!
You’ll remember the fight,
When, as rigid Leviathan, you with great enmity: hated your betters!
Who took your blows nobly,
And with kind, wooden, bloody swords, removed your blind fetters.
How you’ll hate that forgiving blood of Jesus,
Applied drops at a time on your stony heart!
Until you see it is not the end,
But the Christ-in-You: Page-Warrior start!
You’ll then, Rigid Ones, be on the,
Other side of the sword!
You’ll say, as Job did, I repent!
In dust and ashes, Lord!
And if you were particularly mean,
And hurtful to your dear-brave Warrior-Savior,
God will give you a willow-wimpy sword,
To fight Leviathan, inside of your neighbor!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
You might say,
Well, it serves me just about right!
Rip me up,
Leviathan! It’s time to fight!
I shall not return evil for evil,
From proud, religiously-rigid man,
He may hurt me, but me never: him,
He’ll get what I have in me: I AM!
The great I AM,
Wants to live in us all!
In That Day it’s,
A strange work: yet not small!
It’s a BIG thing,
When Leviathan pride dies!
And Christ-in-You,
Trumpets: loud victory cries!
Yet and even much so,
Your pride in all this will be choked: by your own reins,
By the smallish sword,
You’ll be given, to do the large work that remains!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
You might ask me, where did I learn all this?
That it’s a pride-fight and that Leviathan isn’t a dinosaur true!
I learned it by reading the Book of Job,
From the Warrior-Prophet, not a Page, whose name is Elihu!
This great, but young, Warrior-Prophet,
Had heard so much talk of churchy-religious pride,
Elihu wrote all of Job’s book,
Yet pride in work: egoless, he did prodigious hide!
Elihu hid his authorship,
And prophetic voice with Job!
That following Workmen,
Would put this in their brain’s globe…
Religious-Pride is Leviathan! (It’s a smallish issue with beginners!)
Leviathan is Religious-godly-Pride! (Clericalism makes biggest sinners!)
I write this, as your proud author,
Oops! That beast is hard to hide!
Where is my bent, old wooden sword?
God, I lay my heart upon my swag tongue!
Knowledge puffeth me up… in pride,
Touch me now, oh blood of God’s Son!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
But you protest,
Only Jesus! Jesus alone! He alone (ALONE!) is your Savior!
Never you’d let,
Yourself acknowledge: He can be greater in your neighbor?
Can you, then, see now,
What has been your, and all of milk Churchianity’s, problem?
Sub-taught leaders vow,
To never slay their damnable, supercilious, god-pride goblin?
Even tho you say: just reading the bible sans leaven,
And listening to, or becoming, another Milk-way, Mandarin Madman,
And with Jesus, stuck somehow (by you?) in heaven,
Works to expunge pride? Nope! It makes naught but bad-bad bad-men.
So swallow your pride, oh religious daughter or son,
Prepare to meet your shorter, younger, older, taller… Much Betters,
Where dead body is, vultures on you will pick on,
Your religious pride. So honor who removes necrotic, hubris fetters.
You know, only Christ-in-You (in one) can do it,
Almost kill a soul, non-violently, to get rid of religious pride… to move it,
Eyes to see, ears to hear… are a better shoe fit,
Pride kills. Humility heals. Hear ye, All pride-bots so ill-begot… get to it!
Oh, woe is me! Oh, woe is me!
I have but a wooden sword!
From the cross, that victory tree,
Of Christ, my humble Lord!
Isaiah 27:1-4 (MSG) – “At that time (a time in the future when conditions are ripe) God will unsheathe his sword (ITDTs?)… his merciless, mighty sword… (and) he’ll kill [Leviathan – religious pride!] that old dragon [debauched clericalism that lives in harmony and support of Progressive Slavery or Tribal Slavery] that lives in the sea.”
Vs.
The sad but extremely typical early Twenty-First Century Milk Church Leadership meme: “You have everything to learn from us; we have nothing to learn from you!”