Pride: a Company of Lions

PRIDE:  a quality or state of being proud; inordinate self esteem: Conceit; a reasonable or justifiable self-respect; delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship; proud or disdainful behavior or treatment: Disdain; a ostentatious display; a source of pride: the best in a group or class; a company of lions; a showy or impressive group.

 My husband and I were talking about the 'Zuki' the other day.  He had just put in the new transmission and a strange sound was coming from our 1995 Suzuki side kick, a rattling noise that just didn't seem right. I had told him to call Steve, a fellow 4x4 gentleman, who so kindly offered to do the transmission with him a week ago. Steve had a pulley system built in his carport.  My husband did not wish to feel indebted to anyone, so there he was, with a 80lb transmission on his chest lifting it up with his knees and me trying to hurry up and put the bolts in before it landed on my husbands chest and squished him.
 "No pressure... just hurry up okay? This thing is heavy." he gasped through clenched teeth. I could not understand why he refused a friends help. Help that would have made the change much easier on him.

INDEBTED: Owing money, owing gratitude or recognition to another: Beholden.

"If the tables were turned and you were on the receiving end of 'Deeds for Needs', how would you
feel? " my husband was trying to help me understand what he felt.
 "I would probably say' No Thank you' and send them on their way". I had to answer truthfully," I am nobody's charity case."
 " See!" he answered.
 "Yeah, but I'm not alone. I have children to feed and clothe.... So in the end I would have to swallow my pride and accept the help as gracefully as possible." I returned. He grunted.
 "I still wouldn't want to owe anyone anything." Self sufficiency! The less you can rely on another, the better. That's the name of the game, for him, for me and for many others. Human beings are unreliable, we've got a bad rap! History proves that. People are unreliable but God is not. Thank-goodness for that.

 "Each one of us has a body with many parts, and these parts all have different uses. In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body. Each one is a part of that body, and each part belongs to all the other parts. We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in agreement with the faith. Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. Whoever has the gift of encouraging others should encourage. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give freely. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should try hard when he leads. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with joy. Your love must be real...."
Romans 12:4-9

 "So all those times you have stopped along side of the road and helped someone change a tire or drive them to a town..... You didn't expect anything in return for those 'goodwill deeds'.... did you?" I asked my husband.
 "Of course not!" he replied.
 "You are not the only nice person in the world who can do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return... you know?" I roared.
"Hrmmmppphh." was his reply.

  "In Him there was life, and that life was the light of all people."
John 1:4