"As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died." Galatians 6:14 (NLT)

Human pride leads people to defy God. Proverbs 16:18 says, ^“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”

Pride is interconnected with rebellion. Rebellion means that we know better than authority. Rebellion is telling God that we know better than He does. Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that God has accomplished.

• Pride affects what we worship. When we are the center of our own universe, all efforts lead to making ourselves look good. Pride leads people to use social networking to be accepted. We fit a music genre to life and then start conforming to the look, attitude and actions of the music. The issue arises when we find our identity and value within a sub-culture like a music genre. Instead we should be focused on our value and identity being in Christ. Working with students I have seen this happen quite often. Whatever the "flavor of the day" is on the menu in a student's life, many times they will become what they fill their minds with on a daily basis. It is not a matter of "if' people worship, but "what" they worship.

• Pride affects how we worship. Pride leads people to use technology to be noticed. We have all seen the Internet used to hurt people, to bring them down. I have also seen the Internet used for great good. I have seen people come to know Christ through using the Internet as a tool for the gospel. The important aspect to realize is that anything can be a tool to bring God glory or to draw attention to self. Pride draws the attention away from God who desires all of our praise and honor. "God opposes the proud but favors the humble." James 4:6

Humility draws people to an understanding of Christ as pride focused upon what we can do on our own. Without the love and grace of Jesus, I am nothing. I'm far from truly understanding the grace that I've been given, but I sure want too.