More things can be accomplished in this Walk than any of us realize. There is such a faith in my heart for what can be done. All we need to do is just be what we are. We don’t have to be a phony.
I would like to talk to you about pride. Many young people feel that the establishment and its generation is a little on the proud side. They are more wrapped up in materialism and this world’s goods than the young people want to be. It’s easy to look at someone else and see his pride. But I want to talk to you about the kind of pride that grows under an assumed name.
Today the trend in young people is not toward outright pride, but rather a left-handed pride which goes under several names. One is self-consciousness, that reluctance that keeps you from prophesying. You say, “I don’t have anything special. I’m nothing.” But really your pride is saying, “I won’t prophesy until I can speak like Isaiah. I’m afraid of saying something simple and easy. My pride won’t let me.”
Pride is the cause of a lot of fear. People are afraid to do things because they might fail. The humiliation of failing would be too much to bear. Most people don’t make good salesmen because they’re afraid of being turned down. Many a young man has had few dates because he was afraid to ask the young lady of his fancy. He was sure she would refuse him. All of that is pride.
Pride is so deceptive. Ministers don’t break loose from Babylon for fear of failure. Their dignity, their image, their prestige might be hurt. That is also left-handed pride. They must have enough courage to buck the conventional way of doing things. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s the will of God. You can be caught in the same snare if you’re not careful. Start churches and minister, and don’t be afraid of failing.
Would you boys cut your hair if that were the will of the Lord? Is your hair a symbol of being disenchanted with this generation or a sign of rebellion? Is there some sort of pride that you have in you hair? If there is, you have just as big a problem as anyone else. Long hair was given as the sign of covering to the woman, but with some women from legalistic groups long hair has become their fetish. It was religious pride, not humility, that made them wear their hair long. Consequently, when they are saved from legalism, it almost seems as if they should cut their hair and let grow again, this time as a sign of submission. But that is not really necessary.
Pride grows in a lot of forms. When someone refuses to try to participate in the services there is pride behind it. When you have the opportunity and the leading of the Holy Spirit to speak for the Lord, it’s pride that makes you hold back for fear you will be called a fanatic. Self-consciousness is a form of pride, as is also arrogance and the desire to show off. Because you want to be a big “ham,” you create an argument or a situation so that you’ll be seen.
Somewhere in the middle of these extremes is another expression. When you love the Lord with all your heart, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of you or says about you. It doesn’t matter if you fail miserably. The important thing is that you love Him.
I have had no ambition driving me, nor any promise of success. I have never known what this way would mean, but I knew that I had to try because that was the will of God. It didn’t make any difference that I might die in the attempt. This same dedication must grip your hearts, too.
The three Hebrew children had the same attitude. They had the choice of either bowing down and worshiping or being thrown into the hot fiery furnace. They didn’t know whether God would deliver them or not. Only one thing they did know—they were not going to bow down and worship any idol (Daniel 3:12–15).
You can call it stubbornness or some other name, but it all boils down to one thing. In this Walk you cannot draw back, nor can you arrogantly press ahead with personal ambition. You must be dedicated to stand up and be counted and walk with God. You have to put forth that effort and try. You must tell people that you love the Lord, and share the thing that you have. This doesn’t mean you have to be religious zealots. God’s divine life is in us, and it must be expressed. Don’t say, “I’m afraid I might fail. People wouldn’t understand me.” You are going to fail, and people will not understand you. But you will succeed in another way.
By most people’s standards our church would be considered a failure, because we are small in number. What is success and what is failure? Achievement isn’t measured by the size of a congregation or the attendance at Sunday school. A church is successful because of the work God is doing in it. He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30. By any standards of the Word that is the real evidence of success.
Do you want to be popular? You may think, “If I walk this way I won’t have dates; I’ll die an old maid.” You’re focusing on the wrong issue. Live for God. Let your life be in God’s hands. You must lose your life for His sake if you want to find it (Matthew 10:39). You must be dedicated to be a loser, God’s loser. Are you doing the will of God and will you live it? Are you afraid or proud? Are you trying to save yourself through self-preservation? Lose yourself in the Lord. Pray, “Lord, I surrender everything I am, everything I have in order to live and do Your will. I’ll be what You want me to be.”
To live your life wholly for the Lord takes a lot of dedication. Many times you may want to dump the whole walk with God along the side of the road for awhile and pursue something else. Don’t do it. Get rid of the pride and walk with God. Build the churches because that’s your job. Talk to men about the Lord. Be dedicated to go out and see the Body of Christ brought together. Let Christ flow through you. This Walk does not involve any criteria of success from a world’s viewpoint. He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.