THE SEQUEL TO PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

We all love Pride and Prejudice. I don't mean the lesser known Jane Austin's version! When our original fore-father chose autonomy ("I'll do what I want to do!") rather than what The Maker told him to do, he doomed us all with a genetic code of pride and prejudice. As a result, all of us are controlled by our pride and our prejudice. This mercilessly robs and cruelly deceives us. While Adam wrote the original Pride and Prejudice, Jesus wrote the sequel... 

Pride and prejudice led man to lose his true connection with God, with others, with nature and even with himself. Pride still ruins our ability to be honest. Prejudice ruins our openness to learn from others. We now live in a world and among people who are ruled by their pride and by their prejudice. Human pride and prejudices causes terrible damage. It prevents a parent from listening to their frustrated child. It prevents a husband from hearing his wife. It prevents a man from being shown a better way by a younger man. 

But the sequel Jesus has written completely undoes the damage wrought by pride and prejudice. His sequel is called Humility and Honour. It causes a person to consider someone's criticism. It helps a person to applaud someone achieving better results than them. It empowers a wife to apologise to her husband. 

In the script of pride and prejudice we justify our rebellion. The genetic script tricks us into being overly-independent. In pride and prejudice the hero is always right. In the sequel, the story is quite different. The script of humble and honour has a different plot. It's hero is Jesus who was the perfect example of humility and honour. 

Which script are you using for your life? The free and easy script of pride and prejudice prevents a person from achieving their best. Christ's script of humble and honour gives a person the best means of dealing with difficult people, difficult situations, and difficult challenges. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29

If you choose to live your life from the script of humility and honour you will stand out as someone peculiar. This world doesn't honour the humble. But Christ does. And that's all that really matters. 

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15

The next you are tempted to react in pride when someone is trying to teach you something, read from Christ's sequel instead, and try humility. When you're tired and don't feel like you can keep giving, read from Christ's sequel and consider the One who went all the way to the Cross.

Ps. Andrew