Pride

Recently TV news caught my attention, "a mother and daughter dead." Article after article in the Dallas Morning News about this mother and daughter piqued my interest. This was an affluent family, but after the father died, the mother and daughter found they were seriously in debt. Apparently the mother or daughter did not share their problems with anyone, and as their problems worsened they became desperate. So desperate that murder and suicide seemed the only way to end their problems.



"Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proberbs 16:18



Looks are deceiving. Many people don't know how to present themselves to others, or share with another their real concerns. Each of us as unique individuals can live with other people , not apart from them. Pride can be a real detriment to a person. Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins listed in the Bible (Gal. 5:19-21). Those sins warn us of that not to do. But we need more than that. We need to learn how to reach out to others. We are not alone in the world. What can each one of us do ,as individuals, to make our world a better place? With our deeds and our exampled we can look to the opposite of the 'Seven Deadly Sins' to the 'Fruit of the Spirit', where love and kindness reaches out to others (Gal. 5:22-23).



Love is defined as 'an intense affectionate concern for another person, or in Biblical terms 'God's benevolence and mercy toward man.' Love embraces understanding of human weakness and the ability also to see the good in others. It has been said that to really love is not to live for one's self alone, but to help one another.



Kindness is an act of feeling of benevolence, good will or affection. Someone has said kindness is never lost; it may meet with ingratitude, or be of no service to those on whom it was bestowed, yet it ever does a work of beauty and grace upon the heart of the giver.



It is sad that the mother & daughter did not seek help or confide in a neighbor or friend, but let us not forget Love and Kindness for they are the keys to happiness and peace.