Spare Change

F.E.N.: The Two Sides of Pride

Posted by Bryan

The latest contribution to FRIENDmail, inspired by an acrostic penned by my pastor, Dr. Mike Mowery...

Pride. Perhaps the most double-edged of all human characteristics, pride is the one thing that every person aspires to embrace, only to risk ruin if pride turns from virtue to vice. As the adage declares, "Pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick but the one who has it."

These are the two faces of pride. The most common variety can afflict any person, ironically manifest itself even out of humility, and infamously "goes before the fall."

However, there exists another type of pride that is good, benevolent, healthy and worthwhile.

This "good pride" is only discovered intentionally, never by accident. It is only maintained meticulously, never by coincidence. And it is only developed to maturity by commitment, never by happenstance. This pride is best understood by a simple acrostic:

Personal
Responsibility
In
Developing
Excellence


Personal Responsibility
Regardless of where you want to see positive p.r.i.d.e. take root and flourish, it is up to you to see that it happens. All around you people are taking credit for things they provided no contribution toward, and passing blame for things they caused to happen. And where this happens, negative pride can be found.

There is an entire range of things in this world that you cannot control. The one thing you can control, however, is yourself. And while, as the proverb says, "every snowflake in an avalanche pleads 'not guilty," you can (and will) have a direct effect on every aspect of your life where you claim responsibility and commit to making a difference for the better.

Winston Churchill
"The price of greatness is responsibility."



In Developing Excellence
Personal responsibility doesn't exist apart from its object. The object of positive p.r.i.d.e. is in developing excellence. This applies to every arena of life. To take positive p.r.i.d.e. in your work, then you have to take personal responsibility in developing excellence in the work that you do, that nobody else can do. If you desire to have positive p.r.i.d.e. in your friendships, then be personally responsible to develop the habits of what it takes to be an excellent friend.

This opportunity can either challenge you or conquer you. Excellence must be developed; it rarely exists on its own, and almost always withers without nurture. Regardless of how the best in your field got to that lofty position, their ability to stay on top is found in a continual commitment to develop themselves and to hone what they offer toward a high standard of excellence.


Booker T. Washington
"Excellence is to do a common thing is an uncommon way."


You've received this message because you are a person who has taken the personal responsibility in developing excellence in your friendships.

Edwin Bliss
“The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.”

Even if you aren't perfect, thank you for being an excellent friend to the person who sent this to you. May a similar sense of p.r.i.d.e. compell you toward excellence in every other area of your life....personal, professional, and spiritual.

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