“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3

So many years ago:

The certainty with which I judged.
The anger I received,
Hot words with friends
There in the driveway.

The bitterness I brought to bed
that, strange to say, provoked
a prayer. To my surprise, in answer
came a voice:

“You were wrong.
Go and apologize.”

Since that angry night,
I’ve known that pride goes not
before the fall: Pride is the fall.
At least, my fall.

The voice did not just speak
to judge or to correct, but leads
and has led me that night to this.
And, no, I’m never sure

This voice is God’s, and this voice mine,
but on that night, I knew and know.
If I am humble, it has been
the struggle of my life and soul.

So Paul rings true to me
to warn of pride (I laugh to think
how much he struggled with
his very warning),

And I take my comfort in
the humble form of Jesus, who,
though God in truth, eschewed the power:
and shared the love.

A poem/prayer based on Philippians 2:1-13, the Revised Common Lectionary Second Reading for Year A, Proper 21 (26).

Photo by Eric Anderson.

Author’s Note: This is a true story. I’ve struggled with pride ever since, of course. My arrogance is never far away. For the record, I followed the advice of the voice. I apologized.