Seeking God is a very interesting phrase. In my earlier years, there came a point in my life when conviction compelled me to decide whether I was going to merely continue to believe what I had always thought was true, or whether I would actually seek out the truth on my own, apart from what I’d been told. Up to that point, I had known very little of the world, of philosophy, and even of the Bible itself. There’s an interesting pair of verses in the Bible that talk about seeking God. The first is in Jeremiah 29. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
The second comes in Psalm 10: “In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him. In all his thoughts there is no room for God.” These verses, paired together, show an interesting association between pride and truth. For most of my younger life, though I was unaware of it, I had a strong spiritual pride. I didn’t feel like seeking God because I thought I knew the truth well enough already. I was, in fact, very similar to the wicked man in the second verse, too busy with my own small plans to think about the things in life that really mattered.
But then, something struck me once I graduated from high school. I read a quote by C.S. Lewis which said, “Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst.“ And suddenly, I felt a strong conviction and guilt over the attitude I had had for all my life up until that point. Spiritual pride is among the worst of things in the world. God requires that a person seek him. When we think we know everything, and no longer think about striving after God, truth, and knowledge, we come to a very bad place.
So what is seeking God? What is seeking truth? In my mind, it’s all about the attitude we have. Pride keeps a person locked away in their own small world. Humility gives a person the perspective that the world is a big place, and maybe they haven’t gotten it all figured out just yet. For my own part, I prefer what life looks like through the lens of humility– knowing that I can control very little of what goes on around me, that life is much bigger than I, and maybe, just maybe, something truly grand is out there for me to seek and to find. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.
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This one speaks to me at a point in my life where I am desperately seeking (and at the same time hiding from) truth. Pride blinds people. OOh I feel a poem coming on! lol Seriously though, I feel so ashamed to say I have never read the Bible. My mother read it every morning faithfully. Part of me is afraid, because I see how people use religion and words to justify stances that to me, just don’t seem right. My job involves working with extremely controversial issues, and I watch people crucify others for their actions. I think it hurts more than anything in my life, seeing the pain we cause one another. I, being a sinner, have been on both sides. But I suppose if I had to choose, I would choose to be on the receiving than to tear down another. I guess that’s the closest I’ve ever felt to understanding Jesus.
Genevieve,
Thank you very much for your thoughtful comments. Your heart is definitely in the right place, to choose unjust suffering over tearing others down. That’s really awesome and courageous of you. I agree also with what you said about people using religion to justify themselves. That’s why the CS Lewis quote speaks so powerfully to me. Spiritual pride is the worst. I definitely encourage you to start reading the Bible though. You have a really thoughtful mind. You’d get a lot out of it. Thanks very much for checking in on me
It’s very good to see you.
Hi Ben!
This is such a great post! “For my own part, I prefer what life looks like through the lens of humility”–this is beautiful! I have noticed that with most good things in life (which incidentally are all related to God/Spirit) anytime we think we have them mastered we have an incident or two or three that teaches us the lesson of humility all over again. I think your post is so important because it is a very thoughtful reminder that living a good life requires constant, loving, cultivation. Great post. I’m so glad you shared this. Best to you today! Jodi
wonderful post…our heads can become so crowded with everything else we can push God to the fringes, when in the midst of drowning He is the one that can save us.
i have seen too much spiritual pride in my day and have been there myself…we watched the soloist last night and it comes back to me in your post…there are many people that are overlooked that we pass by each day…sure there are scary moments but we just may be the one that they are waiting on…a few small decisions differently and it could be us.
Thanks for this. I can definitely relate to feeling like you knew everything as a kid — I even find myself wondering sometimes whether I did some damage to my brain that wiped out the omniscience I had as a teenager!
Brian, definitely agreed. My mom was actually just telling me about that movie yesterday. Spiritual pride often causes the worst things in the world.
Chris, haha that’s awesome. Thanks very much for reading and stopping by!
Hi Ben, I was just dropping by to say hi. I love watching movies, so I am always glad to get a good referral. The Soloist sounds good!
I am still reading your book, I am to the part where he is getting ready to build the rock project on the river. This character seems to have similarities to you. Did you intend that?
Check out the latest poem I wrote- Foolish Pride. I wrote that after reading your post, so thank you for the inspiration. I realize that redeemingly is not really a word- oops, oh well! lol
Take care.
Hi Genevieve, thanks for the hello
I’ll definitely check that out. It’s perfect timing too. I just got back to Minnesota and am relaxing from the busy schedule. I was actually looking forward to spending some time reading good poetry. Thanks for sending me in the right direction 
And yes, the character in the book and I have many similarities. I tried not to put too much of myself into it, but I think a lot ended up showing through. Thanks very much for reading it. I hope you’re enjoying it.
Hey Benji, this is a GOLDEN post my friend. I love your Honesty and the way you just put it out there. GOD is always seeking us, however, our natural selves don’t DESIRE to know GOD. He will do everything it takes to get your attention whether it be through other people, circumstances, or a quote by C.S. Lewis. Our GOD is a loving GOD, and long-suffering, and he wants to draw and release everyone from Egypt, from the hands of the Advesary.
Thanks for this post again bro,
What a Blessing!!
I think I’ll elaborate on this more on a Hubpage wink:)
Cool, thanks man. I agree completely with everything you said. Awesome to chat with likeminded people. Thanks very much for your comments!