“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” – Colossians 3:23
We have spent the past week talking about pride and the effects it can have on our lives. We have talked about the consequences that come with pride, and what it looks like to be a prideful person. And if you have been reading along, you might be saying, “Pastor, I get it, I get the negative effects and the consequences of pride. I know I need to get rid of it… but how do I escape the cage of pride?”
If you want to escape the cage that has held you hostage to pride, you must be willing to do four things.
First, you must recognize it. You have to first recognize it is there and confess it before God. Call it what it is; pride is a sin. Confess your sin before the Lord.
Second, you must repent. When you repent, you take ground from the enemy. The hold he has on you begins to loosen, and that is how you go free. You must repent and turn from it.
Third, you must recall the life God has saved you from. You are a sinner, but by grace, you are a child of the one true God. Recall and give thanks for the life He saved you from.
Finally, you must refocus your identity on Christ. Rather than living your life for the approval and acceptance of others, rather than living on your own terms for your own gain, you must put Him first. And you do that by putting the attention back on Christ.
Colossians 3:23 tells us exactly HOW we are to do each of these steps. It says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” This means you cannot follow these steps half-heartedly. You must be all in. But when you are, you have the power from God to escape the cage of pride!