Sustenance...mine or His?

I read a comment this morning on a blog about feeling the "pride of being self-sustainable". These words sparked my curiosity almost instantly and I felt the urge to 'Google' it. One of the 'sponsored' links that came up mentioned earning a college degree in self-sustainability. Hmm...interesting indeed so I clicked the link which took me to the college website. The first article was regarding all students need for transcendental meditation. Who needs that ?!? Self-sustaining is the ability of supporting oneself, as defined by Webster's. Even the word "self" solely concentrates on "one's own interest." It wasn't long after I read these things that I began to see the connection between self-sustainability and pride.

Now I am certain the writer who left the comment certainly did not intend to condone pride but it left me pondering how casually I use words at times as well as how easily it is to step into 'self'. Pride is not one of the traits I wish to attain in this world. The Bible warns repeatedly about the sin called pride. Proverbs tells us that, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud." Proverbs 16:18-19 (NKJV) Haughty...now there's another word for you! Basically, it means you have an ego problem. I love the way The Message Bible puts the same verses: "First pride, then the crash - the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. It's better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous."

Various verses within the scriptures talk about pride, or being puffed up. It either comes as a warning of what not to do or it tells of consequences that happen to those who succumb to it. When I read the words "the pride of being self-sustainable", I had not seen things in this light. What I am talking here about is this independent spirit that takes God out of the details and keeps Him at arm's length. Most folks are happy to place a God tag on just about anything these days. You cannot operate independently from God and with God at the same time. The Bible calls this trying to serve two masters and, in the end, you will love one and despise the other.

I have settled in my heart that being self-sustainable isn't all that attractive. If I am dependent on my own accomplishments, abilities and plans then I have left God completely out of the picture. It is such a subtle thing to begin a task out of your skills, even in those talents that are God given. Perhaps this is yet another example of what the motivation within our hearts is in the first place. Is it an attitude of, "Hey, look at me and what I can do" or is it one of "Hey, look at what God has done"? I find myself casually looking at something I have 'done' when actually I have merely been the instrument God worked through at a given time. Keeping that tenderness of heart towards the Lord is imperative. It is so easy to get puffed up when something we have shared in succeeds. The Bible tells us that no man (or woman) will glory in God's presence and that God will share His Glory with no man (or woman). Let our mouths give glory to Him alone in everything. It is His grace that enables us function in this world and our steps, actions and reactions should give Him glory, not pat ourselves on the back.

As I look at our farm, our flock and our garden this year, I truly am humbled by it all. We have been blessed with sheep sales, a good hay crop and an overflowing pantry. God alone deserves the praise for everything we have been entrusted with. You see, I don't really 'have' anything, I don't own it. It belongs to the Lord. He has entrusted many things to me and I pray daily for His grace, wisdom and favor as I perform the duties of shepherdess, gardener, farmer and wife. Walking in my own strength brings instant death to the Life He has provided. Walking in Him, through Him, beside Him, behind Him, literally IN Him is the only way I can truly live as He has ordained. Everything must be "All for Jesus"!