Don The Armour

God recently revealed pride lurking within me that I didn’t know existed. Pride is so insidious because it can taint everything, including the things we do for God, so that they become about us and not about him. As I prayed about fighting this sin, he showed me an analogy that changed my thinking.

We need to be like windows.

Rarely does anyone compliment a window; their purpose is not to be beautiful themselves but to show the beauty outside and allow the light to shine in. We need to be windows through which people can see God. We should not expect praise and admiration for ourselves but for his image and light revealed through us.

When we start to make things about us and want people to notice our good works, we become like stained glass windows. Stained glass windows allow some light but block out what is on the other side. They use the outside light to illuminate themselves, drawing attention to their own beauty. But even the most beautiful stained glass windows are only a shadow of the beauty of God’s creation, which they obstruct.

Do you expect gratitude and recognition when you show someone generosity or do a good deed? If so, consider who it is that you want them to see. Are you trying to garner praise and recognition for yourself, or do you want them to see God through you? To be like windows, we must get out of the way and reveal God’s light. When we do something good, our hope should not be that people will praise us but that they will see God through us and praise him, like complimenting a beautiful view shown through a large window. In this way, we can glorify God in all that we do.

He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)