A walk through the gospel gives us a picture of the deception of pride. The religious leaders in Jesus' days followed Him from impure motives. They held on to their traditions like they were God's gift to them, and so whenever Jesus seemed to break their man-made laws it provided them with more evidence for their case against Him.
How often do we approach situations and people with our own preconceived ideas, too? We question the heart and motives of those who use different methods then us. We jump to conclusions and think the worse about what others are doing. We don't understand or dislike something and therefore decide that it must be bad.
When we don't like what others are doing, we need to step back and examine our own hearts. We need to carefully guard against the spirit of pride and judgment. If not, we may become the Scribes and Pharisees dwelling in the church today. Jesus looked into their hearts and called them hypocrites and white-washed tombs.
Father, open our eyes and help us recognize areas in which pride has found a foothold in our hearts. Give us the courage to face it and release it to You, so that deception will be lifted from us and we might walk in the truth toward others and ourself.
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