Pride

We often think pride only shows up as arrogance… but sometimes pride hides behind hurt, defensiveness, rebellion, control, insecurity, or the inability to admit when we’re wrong.

In tonight’s episode of The Mack Lounge, we’re having an honest conversation about pride — what it looks like in everyday life, how it damages relationships, and why humility can feel so difficult even when it’s necessary for growth.

This episode is full of transparency, uncomfortable truths, laughter, reflection, and moments that may challenge the way you see yourself and the people around you. No pretending. No perfect answers. Just real conversation from real people trying to grow.

If you’ve ever struggled with communication, forgiveness, accountability, leadership, submission, trust, or emotional walls… this conversation may hit home.

Welcome to The Mack Lounge. 🛋️✨

Be sure to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more real conversations every week.

#TheMackLounge #RealConversations #Pride #FaithAndRelationships #CouplesPodcast #GrowthJourn

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome back to the Magline. Yay, what's going on, everybody? We're back in our regular sitting today. Yes, sir. Come on, everybody. Clap it up.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Yes, everybody. Praise the Lord. Y'all like our outfit? We fresh out of church. Fresh out of church. We had a high time in the Lord in our new location. Our new home. Yeah. You don't have a church home, you know what to do. You already know. Come to Hope City, Jackson. Hope City, Jackson.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Jackson. It is 5466. I should remember this time. North State Street. North State Street. Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi. Get there. Right now. Not well, not right now. Yeah, don't show up at the parking lot right now. Right now. If you're watching this on a Monday, we're probably not there. On a Tuesday, we may be there.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

We might be there.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

On a Wednesday, absolutely there.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

But if ain't if the parking lot empty.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Just give it another day.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Yeah, don't give it another day. Just come back another time. Don't just keep coming every day. Go on Facebook and look us up on Facebook so you can know the times you need to come.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Yes, please.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Yeah. So I want to start out a little strong. A lot of people, uh, I I ain't gonna say a lot of people say it, but uh sometimes you can begin a thing and it's small and don't look like it's going nowhere. This and then the third. But my Bible tells me, despise not small beginnings. Come on, that's word. And I believe that whatever God has put on your heart, just because it don't jump off the way you think it is, immediately stick with it. Because here's the thing about God. He's so we ain't gonna say he's tricky, he's definitely not tricky, but you just gotta be, you know, God is God. Um, he's strategic. So what happens is uh like this right here, this is new for us. So God is what is really trying to build us into becoming consistent on what we're doing, becoming better on what we're doing, and uh actually advancing what we're doing. Yeah, and this is what I love about this is sometimes you don't know what to do until you do it. Yes, God is very strategic. I oftentimes uh be uh people become nervous by moving uh just based off the word of God. Yeah, and sometimes your movement, once you move, that's when God gives you what you need in that moment. It's many a times that God, especially in the prophetic world and in sometimes even in preaching and praying, and just with things in general, life in general, I don't get the full concept of it until I step in it. Yeah, that's a word right there. I dare somebody to step in it and let God do what he does. And I just want to start off like that because, in spite of what people may think about what you're doing, yeah, but in spite of how you may feel about it at the moment, it's something that's gonna happen out of your small beginnings. I just want to encourage somebody to keep going. Keep going. And I said all this, I'm gonna got you. I said all this. Lord, has it been a struggle? So we've been moving into our new church home, and Lord, we've been making sacrifices left and right. Yes, and sometimes sacrifices look like hey, we are suffering, but we don't make it look like we suffering. Suffer will. And this is suffer well. Suffer will. And this is what I love about sacrifice. A lot of people, uh, they make sacrifices to be seen. But one of the things that we um take in consideration here in the Macklin's house is we don't want to be seen if if uh we're not expecting nothing back. We expect something from God, but we're not expecting something back. And sometimes, often, people would do things just to expect something back. Yeah. And and I I don't know the scripture exactly, but there's a scripture that says if you do something uh just for the crowd to be pleased, that's your reward by itself.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yeah, man's applause. If you if you're only expecting man's applause, then that's your reward. That's your reward. But if you're expecting heaven to give a reward, my God, I need heaven's reward. That's an everlasting reward. And I think we I think we overlook the fact that um man's applause fades. So like when the lights go out, the cameras are gone, what are you doing to sustain?

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

What are you doing to sustain? Because a lot of times what we do is we do it for people to praise us. And I've I've been in that place where I was doing things for people to praise me.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Doing things it's so performance-based. Um, and we have to understand that performance doesn't get God's attention.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Yeah. My God, performance for the people in the back.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Performance does not get attention.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

Right there, right there. Yeah, yep. You move over a little bit. Not you right there. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Performance doesn't get God's attention, and I think this is, and sometimes it's rooted in how you're raised. Yeah. Um, it's rooted in what you come up in or the people and places you surround yourself in. You felt like performance is what's gonna get the attention. Performance is what's gonna get the love, performance is what's going to um put you in the right places, but performance isn't always what's needed.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Um, I was in my meditation, in my prayer time, and I think I told you this earlier, but um the Lord literally slapped me in my face. Um he do it.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

He'll slap you. Oh, okay. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

And uh and he said that even if I in in short form, even if you're obeying with the wrong heart posture, it's still disobedient.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

Still disob-oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

That kind of hurt me a little bit because I know that I've done things supposedly out of obedience, but my heart posture still said I don't want to do this. Oh my. And so a lot of times we find ourselves in that, and I I think we'd have shifted a little bit, but I think we found ourselves um in that space because um many of us have found ourselves in that space because we feel like works is gonna get God's attention.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

We feel like because man, of course, you know, if you work for them, yeah, they'll show you a little love. But if you the moment you stop working is the moment that man says, you know what, I don't want fools you no more. But God isn't like that. And I think a lot of times we confuse the two so often because we try to compete in a space where there's no competition.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

Oh so let's pause right there. Because you just said something that just simply says we confuse work. What'd you say?

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Work uh with Did I say well, I just said work with performance with with pleasing God.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

So here's the thing, here's the thing. It's not meaning you should work. Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

No, the Bible says faith without works is dead.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Right, so you gotta do the work. Sometimes we talk about this a lot in hope. Uh sometimes people can replace work with the spirit, the connection with God, all this. But here's the thing about the Holy Ghost and work. The Holy Ghost allows you to do effective work.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Work without the Holy Ghost allow you to do work that is only gonna continue to keep you on a spot. It's gonna drain you, it's gonna drain you're gonna drain the way it's gonna make you irritated, it's gonna make you feel like you're not doing enough. But work with the Holy Ghost, yeah. One of the things that I had to I had to do and understand this week, and it was it was tough, but I had to catch myself. I knew I had an assigned area to work in.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

And I this is what I love, and and this is where where you don't confuse work outside of your work, outside of extra work.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Because sometimes people can put on extra work for the applause.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

And so watch this. And why? And why are you doing that?

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Can I just I I need to talk to that person right there. Why? You d I'm sorry, but you're draining yourself trying to get applause, wow, and trying to validate something on the inside of you, you're looking for external validation when the validation should come internally. Because that's just like, take for example, our son. If we applaud him every time he does something right, then he'll look for applause, he'll look for a reward. But if he does it just to say, you know what, I want to do this just because I can.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Like, I say for example, he likes to come and open my door. Yeah. When, you know, I guess when the thought rise up. Train the man right. Yes. He's just watching his daddy every now and then. I don't necessarily I don't necessarily award him for it. I do thank him for it, because that's just manners. But I don't reward him for it, but that's something that he does because he knows, okay, this is something that I should do, not something that I'm going to always get a reward for. You're not gonna always get a reward for obedience.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

Yeah, yeah. Something that you're supposed to do. Something you're supposed to do. So, and that and and and a lot of people may think I'm weird for this, but I don't like too much applause. The reason why I don't like too much applause is because I know that pride is so close to the line with applause, you can easily slip into a state of pride without knowing it. Yeah, and sometimes people can get applause, and that people be applausing me and I'll be looking like that. I I really, if if I sold a million dollars, I would want nobody, I wouldn't want nobody to say nothing about it. And I'm gonna still walk around and I'm gonna still I'm gonna still serve, I'm gonna still I'm gonna still I'm gonna still do what I supposed to do. Uh and some people we sometimes people gotta stop saying that some people because I don't want nobody to think I'm talking about them specifically. But sometimes as a people, we can mistake the applause for this is what I supposed to be working for. And my pride is built so much, yeah, now you like, okay, I don't want to do it no more because I don't have the applause. Because I don't hear the I don't hear the applause.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

I don't hear the applause.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

So now you're doing stuff so out of whack. Yeah. You're doing stuff that don't make sense. Yeah. All because and most people when they get into that state, they're not grasping the concept of what's needed, anyways.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Your applies should only come from an audience of one. Almost quicken right there.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

Ooh, come on, you gotta you gotta get on it a little bit, just a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

So your applies should only come, I'm not saying it's gonna always be the only person, but your applies the up the only applies you should should should look for is from God.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

So I'm I'm always doing for an audience of one. So no matter what what happens, even if you don't clap, which I know you gonna clap, but even if you don't clap, if the people around me don't clap, then the only applies that should matter is the applause of God.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

And a lot of times because we've um we've grown up in environments and spaces that said that people have to applaud you, yeah, we look for the crowd. We look for many people. And when we feel like we don't have that, then we get discouraged, we get downtrodden, we get, well, maybe I'm not doing a good enough job, maybe I'm not um performing well enough. And I think that's I'm gonna be honest, that's a space that I found myself in very, very often, um, is looking for applause outside of the applause of the father. And it's one of those things um now that I'm able to see, okay, it don't matter if if the crowd is moved, it doesn't matter if they're moved as long as God is pleased. Um, and that's one thing, especially like being a worship leader, because you man, it could be tough in that crowd sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

Oh, I mean we've been in places that where the crowd just It just be dead.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Like, and when you look into that.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

What would you be doing up there? When we gonna go home.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, like but when you Please stop singing. Please shut up.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

I love the Lord, but I'm ready to go. Okay, I'm sorry. But they didn't did the comedian on the last episode, so gotta throw it in there.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

But no, like your applies should only be from an audience of one, and I think a lot of times, especially with this new culture and day and age. They so wishy-washy. They will cancel people for anything. You can say that the sky is red today, and they're gonna be like, you know what, I'm canceled.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

They wrong. I'm gonna cancel them.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

And the sky could very well be rented and they reach them.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

But here's the thing, it and um, and I'm gonna say this and I'm gonna push into something you just said. What bothers me the most about this culture is they don't have to have proof of something that you did for them to cancel you.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

And what make what bothers me so bad is, and I understand that some people and some preachers and some people in high platforms uh make mistakes, but if the last time I checked, my Bible says all fall short of the glory. Come on. And they often forget about the laboring that some of these people have done for them. Yeah, they forget about how they have delivered them in some type of way by watching them. And don't get me wrong, I'm not, I am not excusing their wrongdoings. But what I'm saying is you don't kick somebody when they're down. Right. Like that really bothers me because at the end of the day, if you were in that shoe, you would expect somebody to give you grace. Yeah. And um, I want to say, ask this, and I'm and I'm letting y'all into my household a little bit. There have been times that, and I want to say this first, I appreciate you dearly. You know that I I appreciate you wholeheartedly. But there's time, you because the only reason why I'm saying it, because you you spoke on it. Go ahead. There's times that where I can see that spirit rising up, and you be waiting on me to say, hey, congratulations for something that is supposed to be a necessity.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Something that is supposed to be essential that you do. And so um, don't get me wrong, it I I I try not to be mean, but I know sometimes it will come off. It's not I well, this is the way I do it. I just don't say nothing. Yeah, I just don't say nothing. Because even with that, when the spirit of I don't think a lot people understand a lot of stuff coming with the spirit of pride. Yeah. Yeah. Spirit of pride will cause you to lie, yeah. Spirit of call pride will cause you to manipulate people. Yes. The spirit of pride will cause you to do things that's unnecessary.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

All because you're trying to feed this thing called pride.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Yeah. And I I don't think we realize how dangerous pride is. Like, we don't realize how dang and I I don't think I ever really realize how dangerous pride is. I'm gonna add this right here. If you're not ready to um, you're not ready to be married unless you're ready for your spouse to tell you something that you never saw within yourself.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

Say that again, hold on, that your spouse said what?

SPEAKER_00 16:30

You're not ready to be married if your spouse points out something within you that you never saw. Because, and I say that only because I only say that because there are a lot of things, and I'm I'm only saying that because of what you just referenced, but there are a lot of things that you're able to see that I've never really looked at um and and felt like it was you know an issue or felt like it was a thing. Um, and so pride was one of those things that I I didn't feel like I was prideful, but the more I I look at what pride is, then I realize, okay, pride is not just being boastful, but pride is not allowing people to help. Pride is uh sometimes being rebellious um in your actions because you feel like I know the right way, and they can't tell me what the way is because my way is better. Um, and this is deliverance, okay? So we just we getting delivered tonight.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Um I it so and and now it that goes both ways. Because it's times that you it the thing about it is we both can do it differently. Yeah, we both can relay that message a little bit different.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

But uh what you just say at the end, uh pride uh pride can show up as um it can show up as not just being boastful, but it can show up as rebellion. It can show up as my way is the right way.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

So, and that's another thing. My my way is the right way. That's another thing. One of the things that uh uh Apostle Smiley spoke on in our uh uh development team meeting was you have to be able to be in a position to learn something.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Be teachable. And so be teachable. Yeah. And so some people have become so unteachable, there's nothing that you can tell them that would that would convince them otherwise on what they feel like they already know.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Because some people live by the some people live by the saying you can't teach an old dog.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

You can't teach a dog. I didn't want to say it because I've been I don't wore it out.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Well, I just don't feel like that would be um I don't feel like that is the thing though. Like, I don't feel like you can't like I'm we never had no old dog. But I'm I'm just saying in general, like Please don't talk about no dog.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

We the next dog we gotta do, we gon we gonna baptize that dog. And we gonna tear it until that dog's.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Until you get the Holy Ghost.

SPEAKER_02 19:21

Lift your hands.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

We got some fresh oil too. So I just want to let y'all know if y'all think about putting a dog in this house.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

You gotta get the hell of Holy Ghost first.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

He gotta be drenched with oil. First of all, he gotta walk around just oil. Oh my god. That way, every time it gets ready to do something wrong, it'll slip. It's gonna fall up off of them. Hey, hit this how they're gonna be the right.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Now, if we get a dog and they start doing that, I know.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Listen, it's gonna be I'm leaving it with you. Nope, that because at the end of the day, I think people have to understand that too. Dogs carry spirits. They do. We have witnessed the negative spirit one. And I ain't trying to deal with that devil no more. Okay, I'm sorry. I need delivered from that. Oh, God.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

But back to the program at hand, and my recliner, y'all, I know y'all just seen my chair move. But um, people often look at pride as being boastful.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

But pride and boastful, boastful is coming out of it.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Because this is what pride does. It comes with the all all the things, all the rebellion spirits and everything. And then once all that has been implemented, it comes that boastful spirit.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Because pride is gonna tell you that you're right.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

That you right, walk in your authority.

unknown 20:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

But boastfulness is gonna tell you to do it loudly. Exactly.

unknown 20:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Boastfulness is boastfulness is gonna tell you to do it boldly. Boldly.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

And see, and see, a lot of people mistake pride boastful and boldly with spiritual boldness.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Hmm. You kind of walk in that a little bit. Just a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

So so here's what spiritual bold. You want to fix that? Just gonna fix it. We hey God bless y'all. Stay tuned for these messages. Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

What's up, everybody? You already know what time it is. It's time for the Mac Lounge announcements. Huge shout out to our Church Hope State Church Jackson, where our leaders are Apostle Anthony and Pastor Eric H. Miley. We have service every Sunday, beginning with episode HD of the Cons. And watch the service I'll just say, Wednesday, 616, 4. Next one shout out to that and boy with big three Fridays. That's gonna be every Friday at 6 a.m. And next one shout out for Grace Grit and Grove with Lire on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. And you can also catch her on Saturdays at 3 p.m.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

So Pride boastful.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Pride boastful is going to throw everything off around you.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yes. Yeah, it will.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

You don't look like it. But spiritual boastfulness and boldness. Let's go back.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

Pride for boldness is going to scratch that insecurity mode that you got on the inside of you. Yes. Because if you already fighting insecurity, pride will be your best friend. But then we often mistake it with spiritual boldness.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

And what spiritual boldness is, the thing about spirit, he's going to give you wisdom.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

The Holy Ghost is gonna give you wisdom. He's gonna give you how to do it. And here's the thing the Holy Ghost is gonna tell you if you're wrong, and it's gonna correct you.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

And you gotta be the one to with that withstand that correction and walk that correction through.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

But pride's gonna allow you to feel like you're right when you feel like you're wrong. Oh God.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

It's gonna, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

Oh God.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

That was that was that You're gonna have to so pride will make it feel like you're right even when you're wrong.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Oh, you want to mean to walk into that too? Um You don't touch on it. You got some on, you look like you got something on your mind.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

I think because a lot of times we will walk in pride and feel and it comes off as a false humility.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

Ooh. Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

Yeah. I I said we was getting delivered tonight, so I hope y'all are taking this deliverance.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

I promise y'all this ain't Word Wednesday.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

It's not this this is not the arc. It's not.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

This is not Faith Feel Friday.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

It's not. It's not.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

This really is supposed to be something like Grace Grit and Growth. Because she's so sweet with her rebutts. Yikes and her.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

She is, though, but it will hit you in the chest.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

It'll hit you in the chest, but it'll it'll tap you. Y'all ever had some like on a cartoon where it tapped you and it just said like a dust. Praise God for apostatization.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

I'm screaming. Um no. Um it will it will come off as a false humility though. Pride will come off as a and you you think you're being humble, but really you being prideful.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Yeah. Really you being like, really, you really boasting. So and then that goes back into when you're becoming prideful, can't nobody tell you nothing. Can't nobody tell you nothing.

unknown 25:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Like my daddy used to say I can't get nothing in this chicks gone.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

One of the things, and I I I would love for somebody Dominicans, don't let me walk in pride and just and just let me go off the cliff.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

Because it'll lead to destruction.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

It'll lead to destruction. So what I would love to what I would love, and I say this all the time, come to me and approach me and say, Hey, um way you did this, you know, I need you to see it on this side. Yeah. One of the things I love about our leader is he'll ask you questions to make you think about what like instead of answering his question his question, he'll ask you questions to make you think about what the answer is really is. And so what I do is I and I learned that note from him, what I do is um and oh Lord. I know that irritates you, but it's okay. I love you. I would ask you to repeat it and say it again.

unknown 26:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

And I would slow you down.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Because I need you to hear what you just said, I need you to see what you just did.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

And and it's not in the point place of, oh, I'm just right. No, because sometimes when you're it it's it's a difference between confrontation and a fire.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Yeah. And I think a lot of times I get the two confused, and I'm just gonna talk about me for a moment because I think a lot of times I get confrontation and um that fire confused. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

We're not talking about the consumer fire either. We're talking about a wildfire.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Like a wildfire, yeah. Um, because a lot of times, sometimes what I need to confront, I turn it into a wildfire.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Like I light a match and it just, it's like somebody put gasoline on the floor and just let it like run, like just let it run off. Um, but confrontation, and when we think of confrontation, and that's that's another thing that I'm having to um rewire in my mind, because I when I think of confrontation, I think of negativity.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Instead of it being like, you know, um, I think it was John, I can't think of his name right now, but it was a he's a civil rights leader, and he said, fight the good fight.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

It ain't John Wick is. No, it's not John Wick.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

No, I can't think of his name right now, but um, it's John something. But anyway, he said, fight the good fight.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

Yeah, I don't hear that. I know it's the mouth.

SPEAKER_00 27:37

And I think a lot of times when we think of certain words, we automatically think of negativity. Yeah, we think of a fight being something that's bad, we think of confrontation being something that's bad, we think of disagreement being something that's bad. And so I've I'm learning how to rewire how I hear words because a lot of times, and this and it still goes into pride because pride will make you think that what's what's actually positive and what's good for you is negative and it's bad for you. And so um that's something that I'm having to rework and rewire in my mind, and that's you know, something that you know I'm steady like asking God, deliver me, because a lot of times when especially like if I'm having to confront something, I'm I'm always weary about it, no matter what it is. I'm weary about it because I I feel like it's a negative thing instead of me feeling like it's actually stretching me. Yeah, and so I think a lot of us find ourselves in that in that space sometimes, especially when it comes to confrontation, because a lot of times what we're having to confront is something that we've been either hiding or running from. Wow, and wow, a lot of times the exact thing that we're hiding or running from is the very thing that we need to go ahead and get rid of and fight. Um, otherwise, it's just gonna get bigger and stronger and bigger and stronger, and then we'll find ourselves not being able to, whereas it may have started out as this miniature thing, now it's grown into a giant, and now you gotta slay a giant that really was supposed to be an ant.

SPEAKER_02 29:22

So let's flip the switch a bit. Let's talk about the other side of pride. When you've come down off of pride and you realize that you were wrong. And I'm just saying in general, when you because there's been moments that where I can honestly say that I can I have I have walked in a prideful state. But the thing about me is and and and and I often look at this and I be like, people will really think misunderstand me because the way I move. Yeah. But it when it involves other people, I know how to go back and say, hey, I was wrong. And a lot of people, they feel like they have to explain it in detail. But you go back and you tell the people that's wrong, and because you I think a lot of times people don't want to see that flip side of it because once again, pride is rising up again. And it said, I don't want nobody to look at me different as if I don't I'm just a problem. I don't know what I'm saying. I don't know what I'm talking about. I think the root of that is really the insecurity.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

I think the root of that is really insecurity.

SPEAKER_02 30:41

Insecurity.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

Because what you just said was really an insecurity. It's not um example, like you just said, I don't want to be embarrassed. Yeah that's an insecurity. Yeah, I don't want people to know that this part of me is I I still need construction in this part. Yeah. I don't want people to know that I'm struggling in this area.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

In this area, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

And that's that's really rooted in insecurity. Um, and I can talk about it because I've been there. The the insecurity of thinking that you have to be polished in order for people to love you.

SPEAKER_02 31:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

You have to be polished in order for people to um befriend you. You have to be polished in order, and that's something that literally like I'm still getting delivered from. Me too. Because a lot of times I I often feel like, and we talk about this sometimes, is I often feel like I have to do things a hundred percent right in order for you to love me. And that's not, I mean, of course, I know you're gonna love me through every mistake and all of that, but anyway.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

That's that's a horrible song to try to I just like that part.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

That's why I only said that part. I will love you in a way.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

Um, but yeah, um, that's something that I'm I'm still having to work through. Um because part of me, part of me knows it's okay to make a mistake, and then the other part of me is always fighting to say, Well, if you don't make a mistake, that's gonna make them love you unconditionally. And so that's that's something, and that I mean, in that case, that could be prideful too, because you're taking it upon yourself to dictate how somebody else will feel about you, um, instead of allowing yourself to make the mistake and let them make the choice. Because if if they have the love of God, as we all should, if they have the love of God, then they're they're going to love you anyway. Yeah. Because love, you know, God's love is unconditional.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

We can go up and mess up today, tomorrow, next week, and God's still gonna say, you know what, I still love you. Yeah, I'm gonna still put breath in your body, I'm still gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Thank God for that. Because if I often used to say this, and I um I think I recently heard somebody else say it, uh, I'm so glad that my life is not predicated by people.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

Come on.

SPEAKER_02 33:16

But it is by God.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Because I would have died a long time ago.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

Yes, I would have died a long time ago. I would have been homeless a long time ago. I would have been without, I would have, it would have been so I would have been spiritually dead a long time ago. Yes, and I'm so grateful that God didn't make it that way. Ah, my God.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Right, watch that.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Listen, oh God, when you think about certain stuff, it makes you love God even more because God sees those insecurities, He sees those flaws, and He still loves you in a way. And this is the thing about it, and I love this about God that even though you put your mask on with God, He still sees you. He still sees you.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:02

And this is what happens when when God still sees you and um He brings those things up, and I look at it like He's peeping beyond a mask. Like you said, come on, come on. I I see that. I see you. I see that. Come on, let's deal with that peace right there. Yeah, let's deal with that peace, and that's okay. It's a blemish on your face, but let's deal with it. Yeah, and he don't judge you. Yeah, he don't it like it's just oh God, when you think about the goodness of Jesus, yeah. A lot of people look at that as money-wise, but oh my God, because and see, even with pride with God, because of our rebellious and prideful spirit with God, because you can't tell me that you're prideful with just people, yeah, or rebellious with just God. Yeah, I mean with just people. You're rebellious and prideful with God, and you still say, Hey, I get it. Come on, let's calm down today. We're gonna try again tomorrow. Yeah, and and and and this is uh this is God is so consistent with that. I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to be quiet for a minute because I'm thinking about everything that should have done, been, should have happened, how it could have happened, yeah, the way it should have gone, but God still had mercy and loved me. And the oh, I love this scripture. Uh love covers a multitude of sins. Yes. And that right there, even and I don't uh that that is considered as a sin. Yeah. That is considered as a sin. Because if if he got on the Adam and Eve about hiding something that he already knows about, yeah, that's a sin.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Yeah.

unknown 35:40

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

And I no, I I think I'm gonna stir you up again. No, no, you're good. I I think I'm gonna stir you up again, but I I just thought about something. We we praise the we praise God in a way um when we call him El Royi or El Royi, which means the one that sees, but we don't look beyond the point of, oh, he sees me in my trouble. No, he he sees the part of me that I don't want to fix sometimes. He sees the part of me that is still messed up, but he still loves me.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

He still like, and I think that's probably the most incredible thing that um that I that God has pointed out to me um across this week is that I see you, but I still love you.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

I still I see you, but I still love you.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

I see you, but I see the dirt that's on you, but I still love you. I still give you a hug.

SPEAKER_02 36:31

I man, I ain't gonna lie. I be like that with people sometimes. I still I see you, but I still love you.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:38

I see your intent, but I still love you.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

And I and then that's how you confuse the enemy.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Oh, we gotta confuse the enemy.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

You got to confuse the enemy. I see your, I see the spirit that you operate in. Yeah, but I still love you.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

And and and that's another thing that well, pride would flip you on. Because pride will tell you you need to call that out. Yeah. You need to dress that. Yeah. And if you dress everything that you've seen in the spirit that wasn't time for to be addressed. You're gonna mess some people up. You're gonna mess some people up.

SPEAKER_00 37:08

And yourself.

SPEAKER_02 37:09

And huh?

SPEAKER_00 37:10

And yourself. And yourself. Because now you can't be trusted.

SPEAKER_02 37:13

Now we when when when that happened, we are still in a place that we're we're denying everything.

SPEAKER_00 37:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

And because and that'll run people away. Uh I I'm not I don't want to say the trick, but just people away from you, period.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

Because now they're looking at you like, okay, he's seen something in me. Mm-hmm. And I ain't want nobody to know. But I ain't ready to deal with it yet. So now I'm gonna board him.

SPEAKER_00 37:43

And now your witness is tainted. I'm sorry, that just came out.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

Let's not get on all this. We done went into a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

That's a point though. I just want to expound on that really quick because in the work of evangelism, we um, and this is something that we're being taught, is that you can't just point it out in a way that makes people run from you, because now you're not able, you're you're not drawing them, you're driving them. And you can only draw with love. And I I don't know who this is for, but a lot of times the problem is it's not that you're not it's not that what you see is wrong, is you're driving them because you're not drawing them with love. With loving kindness. Have I drawn things? Because you gotta think about it, like God draw he draws us with his love. He don't he don't drive us away. Like, of course, once you get into it and God started really like talking to you and he tells you, hey, you you need to fix that, or hey, you need to do this, or slap you in your face, like he did me this morning. Like, but it's not to draw, it's not to drive you, it's to draw you. And I think a lot of times we get certain things misconstrued because we think it's supposed to drive us away, and it's really drawing us. Like that this morning, I'm not gonna lie to you, it draw me. I said, you know what, God, you're right. That's I my heart posture has to be right in order for me to do this. Like my heart posture has to be, and so um, even in that moment, I had to take, I had to, I really had to sit there for a minute and said, Okay, God, now that you're telling me my heart posture isn't right, now Father, and in that moment, like instantly, the Lord was like, Okay, heart posture. And I instantly said, I made a choice to fix it and say, you know what, well, let me fix this. And now, um, I don't lie, I feel freer. Because the the point was not just to do it with the spirit of I don't want to do this, but do it in the spirit of you know what, I I need to do this, and I have to do this because it's driving a wedge between me and God. And not, it's not, it's driving me away from God instead of drawing me to him. So I don't know where you want to go from there. I just said a lot of things.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

Because I wanted to point out something that you said, you said pull, not push.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:21

And I remember when I first came to Hulk and I was in the new member orientation, and I have never put had nobody to put it in that perspective. Because you often hear people, I'm gonna push what's in you out of you. Mm-hmm. But uh, who was it? I think it was Director Kim, was that at that time she was over, and she said, What we are here to do is pull what's out of in you, yeah, out of you. Yeah. And I immediately caught that because sometimes you can push people and push them right out of the kill. But if you pull on them, if you're pulling them, yeah, if you pull them what's in them out, whether it's this that they're gifting, yeah, or whether it's something that's not needed within them, it's a difference between pull and push.

SPEAKER_00 41:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:12

Because we're because we can be so focused on pushing and not see what's on the other side of them. Yeah. But when you pull, you know, like anytime you pull, it's just like tug of war. As you going back, you recognizing what's behind you. So you're gonna do with one foot at a time.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:38

And if you begin to go off a cliff, you're gonna fill it with that first foot first.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:45

I I I do want to say this though, and I I I that was the scripture, and um Oh no, that's another conversation for another day because that's happening to something else, and um, I it I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Just touch on it one second, one second. Ten seconds.

SPEAKER_02 42:04

Ten seconds. Ten seconds.

SPEAKER_00 42:06

Ten seconds.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

So even when you're pulling somebody and you're feeling like you're about to fall off the cliff, the thing that happened with the man when his friends was trying to carry him to a grave. The enemy came towards them and they had to drop him to get to a place of safety and where they need. Sometimes it's good to let people go.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

Come on.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

So they can get what they need.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

Alright, we can't touch on that, because that's a whole nother we'll be here another hour. Talking about that.

SPEAKER_02 42:48

Oh listen. But and yes. But that's how sometimes that's how God works. Yeah.

unknown 42:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:58

God will see you getting in the way of something. Yes. And he'll set it up to where you have to put them back.

SPEAKER_00 43:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:05

Yeah. You know how many times, and that's a form of pride too, because sometimes when you when you are when you love somebody so much, and God is trying to say, hey, what you're doing is doing more harm to them than helping them. But here's it is it's somebody that's close to my heart. I got it, Lord. Why I can't give it to them. Yeah. That's a form of pride because I'm expecting. My thing is, I feel like what I'm doing is right. Better than what you're telling me.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

But now you're replacing God in their lives.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

Okay. Now you're replacing. We cannot go forward with it. We have been with it at Lord, have mercy.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

Let me I just want to talk about it for a quick second.

SPEAKER_02 43:51

You see how I tried to add pride back in there? Because that way there can be pride.

SPEAKER_00 43:55

Um, so when you said that, I admit I immediately thought of how. A lot of times we allow loyalty to make us not drop people. We allow the amount of time we've known people, the amount of things that they may have given us, we allow the amount of um things that we may have given them. We allow literally loyalty to drain us of a space that we've outgrown. That's that's all I'm gonna say. Because if we go, you know, I don't want to go too deep, but um we allow we allow time and loyalty to drain us um in a space that we're no longer growing in. And when I say that, it's not that the person may have, it's not that the person didn't help us in that season, but now um that season is over. And if we don't drop them, now they become a parasite, they become a leech. Yes, and it's now instead of it adding to you, it's depleting, it's taking away from you. And pride says, Oh, they've you know, I've been with them this long, and I just I want to let them go because I feel like I could still be an asset to them. Pride says, I'm an asset, but in reality, you're being a liability.

SPEAKER_02 45:16

That hurt that hurts. Yikes. I'm sorry. That hurts. Not sorry. Somebody told me one time there's assignments and there's permanent relationships. Mm-hmm. You gotta assignments and there's a season.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 45:34

No, assignment. Maybe. Because the assignment is a short period of time. You gotta know when that assignment is. So that's a season. There's a season and then there's a permanent residence with something or someone.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:48

And you have to be able to discern when it's your time. And um, that's something that we oh, I don't want to jump into, but there was there was a point in my life that where the assignment was up. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But my pride got in the way.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

And I stayed too long.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:07

But oh, we thank God. And in that in that case, it was either I become a person that I didn't want to become or move on.

SPEAKER_00 46:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:19

And I had to move on. And I I'm glad I did because at the end it showed. Because what my God, God will allow a literally a confrontation to drive a wedge between you and an assignment.

SPEAKER_00 46:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:37

And a lot of people look at it, now don't get me wrong, there are some things that, yeah, it gotta it gotta have some some some tension there every now and then to keep you strong. But there are some points that will God would drive confusion, the God would drive uh chaos for you to move on.

SPEAKER_00 46:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:57

And it was so many times the Lord had to do me like that with jobs. And he be like, all right. Yes, I told you, make preparation to go. Man, it's going good, it's going pretty decent. I think I'm gonna be able to say, ah, alright. Alright, something about to happen. And you're gonna have to go. Yeah. And I go in a rage. Yes. All because of my pride. I'm still I'm still working on my pride. You gotta be able to learn how to. You gotta be able to learn how to shut things down that are not of God when it arises. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:38

And we often hear the whole the the old folks say that the Holy Ghost is more than about laying hands and prophesying.

SPEAKER_00 47:45

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 47:46

The Holy Ghost is when you're able to withstand things that you'll know that you know that is not good for you.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:57

When you're able to say, I have a drink drinking problem, but the Holy Ghost in me give me the power to stop it.

SPEAKER_00 48:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:05

But I have a pride problem. Yeah. But the Holy Ghost in me is what's gonna give me that power to cut it off. And so we often look at the Holy Ghost is how good we pray, and all these different things. But what do you do when you're behind closed doors?

SPEAKER_00 48:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:26

When it's just you.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

What's your life like when it's silent? And that's something I've been thinking about lately because um a lot of times when it's silent around me, um my mind can be chaotic.

SPEAKER_02 48:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:43

And so that's that's been something I've been really um kind of heavily trying to, you know, pray about is Lord, when it's silent, I want it to be silent. You know, like when it's silent, I want it to be actually silent. And not a million like I like to liken it to like a million tabs being open on a computer. Like, eventually, um, eventually that computer starts to run hot. You've heard it, you've heard my MacBook do that before. It starts to run.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 49:24

Eventually it starts to run hot, and it's trying to the fan is trying to cool it's it's trying to make it cool itself down to actually function. And a lot of times we don't realize we running hot until the fan of the Holy Ghost starts running. And you like, oh man, yeah, I got too many, I got too many things going on, too much going on in my mind, so now I need to just like I need to start closing things.

SPEAKER_01 49:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:52

I need to start closing things. And I think I think that's another that could be another form of pride when you you don't realize how overwhelmed or how m chaotic your mind is and you say, Oh no, it's not chaotic, it's just how I function. When truly that's not really how we're meant to function. Not with that type of chaos. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Alright, last episode we started something they call uh 60 seconds of wisdom. My God. And J Nicole, my give me 60 seconds of wisdom based off what we talked about tonight.

SPEAKER_00 50:32

We talked about a lot. Um sixty seconds of wisdom. Um don't allow pride to block what God is trying to do in your life. Um because a lot of times what we feel like is negative is really drawing us to him. And we can't allow what we can't allow the process to overtake us. We supposed to be able to function through the process. And I think a lot of times what happens is that we we give up in the middle of the process because we don't realize that we were meant to endure the process.

SPEAKER_01 51:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:16

We don't realize that we were meant to do um what it is that God has called us to do even in the midst of the process. So don't allow your pride to break you down to a point where you give up on the process because it doesn't look like the way you thought it was gonna look. And I hope that was 60 seconds.

SPEAKER_02 51:36

It was not over 60 seconds, but yeah. Great. So 60 seconds of wisdom.

SPEAKER_00 51:41

Come on, man of God, I know you got a lot.

SPEAKER_02 51:43

The Bible declares uh in the scripture about quenching the spirit. Yes. And oftentimes we don't understand that we quench the spirit when we don't we don't rely on the spirit. And what I've learned to get me through some of my trials, my situations, and even times that my my brain is louder than my voice sometimes. What I want to encourage you guys is, and I know this is an open uh podcast, and uh I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Come on, we're not ashamed. I'm gonna always put forth what I know, yeah, and what I know is Jesus, and what I know is the Holy Ghost. Come on. The Bible says that uh He came to get and He gave us a comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. Come on. And I can't claim and declare that I have the Holy Ghost if I can never rely on him in times that he said, Hey, you can come to me. Yeah, the Bible also declares, Come all that are heavy laden and burdened down. And when I become burdened and heavy laden, I depend on what's on the inside of me to handle the situation that I'm currently dealing with. Yeah, and I promise you, if you pull on the Holy Ghost a little bit more, it's not like any man. I promise you, you can get on man's nerves, you can get on man's last nerves, you can actually call man at the lot at the wrong time. But when you call on Jesus, I dare you to have the confidence in Jesus that he'll fix whatever your situation is now. And if he don't fix it, he's gonna show you how to overcome it. Yeah, because some things are not meant to be fixed, it's meant to overcome and conquer. So if that was my 60 seconds, rely on what you say you have on the inside of you.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

Come on.

unknown 53:36

Come on.

SPEAKER_02 53:36

Oh God. Come on, Jesus. I feel good. All right. Until next time. And for all, until all that is heard. I'm gonna stop messing it up one day. Until all have heard. Peace.