Nearly two years ago I purchased my very own place—all by myself. I worked hard, saved harder, and sacrificed many social events and outings in order to make my goal a reality.

I was so proud for doing it “on my own.” Without help from anyone else. Well, except for the bank of course. And rightfully so, I had worked really hard to do it on my own!

But after a while I noticed an attitude forming in my mind and heart. One of proud judgment of others who had made large purchases with the help of others. I found myself thinking things like, “If they were only as hard a worker as I am they could have bought it on their own.”

Recently I was reading about how pride manifests in a study guide called Shedding Light on Our Dark Side and it made an interesting point of how our society treats pride.

Unlike gluttony, anger, and greed, which are often easily detected, pride can blend in to just about any lifestyle, making it practically impossible to detect. In our day, though, it seems that pride needn't bother to conceal itself because many people have exalted it from the vice that it is into a virtue it is not.¹

Really this is just another example of how the world considers appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). So where have I been looking for approval? Has my attitude been gracious and loving? Probably not. Romans 2:29 teaches “…a change of heart is produced by God's Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people” (NLT).

So how am I dealing with my pride-attack? Thankfully, I now recognize my heart lacks gratitude—I was so busy giving myself pats on the back I distracted myself from thanking God for blessing me with such abundance. It wasn't me at all. At some point I had wandered off the path of working hard and doing it all for the Lord (Ephesians 6:7; Colossians 3:23) and was fruitlessly labouring it for man, and myself.

If you want to read more about pride manifestation and entitlement check Generation Entitlement in November's Insights magazine.

¹ Insight for Living. Shedding Light on Our Dark Side. USA: Insight for Living Publishers, 1993 (15).