The Reflection of the Great Kiskadee

This morning I was woken up at dawn by this little guy. 

Beautiful bird, right?  Not so bright though. 

At dawn he was attacking the bedroom window. He tried it all: dive bombing, sitting on the sill and pecking furiously. But nothing satisfied him. 

The windows have a coating on them that makes them resemble a mirror, especially when the shade is pulled down. So my feathered friend here thought his reflection was a rival bird. He was threatened by a reflection of his own self. In his pride he continually attacked it, which only served to harm himself.

It's easy, especially at the crack of dawn, to roll your eyes and declare him a stupid bird. But honestly, he's not unlike me. 

How often does God put "mirrors" up to show me a reflection of myself? Whether it is a circumstance or another person...people who irritate, frustrate, and anger me...people who possess the very quality I despise in myself, but I am unable or afraid to admit I possess. What keeps me from admitting this? 

Pride.

I'm not talking about the pride you feel when praised for a good effort, or the pride you feel for someone, which is more akin to a warm hearted admiration. The pride to which I refer is the kind that only finds joy in exalting yourself above another: having more than, being better than. Nasty.

In the classic "Mere Christianity" C.S. Lewis describes the problem with what he calls the "great sin" or pride.

"There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others."

Isn't that true.  But how to remedy it?

Fortunately, I have options. I can behave instinctively, like my Great Kiskadee friend: attacking, reacting defensively, blaming, and completely missing the point of the "mirror." I can succumb to my pride and resist the change God desires to introduce to my life. I can hold onto my pride until I destroy and injure myself and others. 

Or I can take an honest look in the mirror and first examine myself. I can embrace humility, not thinking of myself more highly than I ought. I can accept the purpose of God holding this mirror up in the first place--for my good.

What about you? What situations or people bring out the ugliness in your heart?  Are you willing to study your reflection in the mirror and walk in humility?