Categories
accountability storytelling

We all Need Help

In a good story, the hero rarely succeeds alone. Especially in a plot where the circumstances appear dire, the hero has some help.

We all need help. "People seldom refuse help, if one offers it in the right way." A. C. Benson

One of the tragedies of this age is that we are increasingly loners and lonely. We go about self-improvement projects alone and falter because of our blind spots. And it seems to be getting worse. It’s become an epidemic after the pandemic. When we feel we have to go it alone, all hope evaporates.

But we are never truly alone. Keep this in mind: we can be recipients and givers of assistance no matter what stage of need you are in.

Help that maintains the dignity of the one in need and gives kindness and consideration to them works wonders.

Think back to when you were in need, and someone was there to give you aid. That is a story worth telling. Perhaps that story will help someone else see that they can rise from a low place.

An encouraging story can be just the help someone needs.

Categories
motivation

When pride and haughtiness blinds us

Our society has tried to make pride a good thing. Perhaps it is because it is too broad of a word in the way we use it today. We tie pride to our self-worth, joy, dignity, and delight. But it can also be used to describe an inflated ego, haughtiness, disdain toward others, and a refusal to consider another’s opinion.

When I drew this cartoon, I thought of the many times I let pride trip me up. It has caused me to look down on others. It has also caused me to be too stubborn to change for the better. It’s why I value this proverb so much:

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)

Pride gets us in trouble when we can’t see the other person’s point of view. It leads to our destruction when we can’t work with others and refuse to grow because it may cause us to admit we were wrong about something.

I am proud of my wife and kids. I am proud of the work I have been able to do and the living I have made the last several decades. But may I not be too proud to learn from someone else. May I be humble enough to admit when I’m wrong and change course. May I keep my nose down and open my eyes before I fall into a manhole. And may I not be so proud of missing the first one, that I fall into the second one.

Cartoon of a boy who is about to fall into a manhole. Another boy says, "I'm sorry you were proud. Just stop!"