Does this ego make me look fat?

Have you ever had one of those moments where, for a split second, you laugh gleefully at someone’s comeuppance?  Have you ever secretly wished (prayed!)  that someone would get “what’s coming to them?”  You know what I’m talking about—I speak from experience. 

Listen, if you delusively walk about in a Queen of Sheba cloud you WILL trip up the steps, fall in the crowded parking lot, or walk out of the bathroom with toilet paper streaming from your shoe, or a skirt neatly tucked into panty-hose. But that’s in the (my) past…

What if someone hasn’t behaved appropriately, and seems to love the sound of their own voice? Your internal dialog: “Did she just brag about volunteering/cooking/helping?!  Taaacky!!”

Because of my past pride issues, and DNA from my mother, I have an ever-sharp, balloon-bursting needle with radar for inflated ego!  But I know it’s not my mission to keep another’s feet planted firmly on the ground (although, I seldom hold back with Daniel—I "help" him keep his ego in check with squinty-eyed looks, kicks under the table, and head slaps, honestly and transparently, hah). 

I must pray all the time to love the way Jesus loved me—and He surely has a million reasons to laugh at me!  But He doesn’t.  He gently loves me and corrects my pride and doesn’t wish for me to fall.  It’s not easy, because, goodness, some folks are just so pleased with themselves!  But it’s what Jesus commands.  It’s the way He loves me.  “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor. 13:6-7.

Since my motto is “Nothing but love,” I pray Jesus guides me away from selective loving and those deceptively lofty heights of pride.