Leading Indicators For Our Soul

Given the economic turmoil of the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic, you’ve probably heard news reports and pundits talk about “leading indicators.”  They comprise any statistic or measurement that has statistically proven to predict the possible future course of the economy. As you’d imagine, economists LOVE leading indicators like the number of housing starts, or the average number of hours worked in a given period of time. Some economists even track the number of paper shipping boxes that are built, under the assumption that retailers are thinking they’ll need more (or less) boxes to ship our “stuff” in.

There are leading indicators for the future health of our souls, too. One of the most important of these is the level of pride we carry around in our hearts. C.S. Lewis said:

Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind. For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.

Can you think of an example where pride has been the “leading indicators” predicting someone’s downfall? What about our OWN level of pride? Do we have a prideful spirit acting like a cancer growing silently in our soul?

How can we rid ourselves of pride? The short answer is—we can’t. But we can cooperate with God as the Holy Spirit works in our lives to put us through a spiritual MRI. We can lengthen the amount of time we spend talking to God, reading the Word, attending worship services and meditating on His goodness.  That’s the “hard work” that will rid us of our pride.

This Sunday we’ll be celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church at Pentecost and be reminded again of our need to “tap into” God’s power rather than relying on our own efforts.

Are you feeling the prompting of the Holy Spirit to change your thinking? Are there areas of trauma, grief or loss in your life that God is using to transform you? Do you sometimes feel like God has sent you off into unknown territory, kicking and screaming?

If you’re feeling God tugging on your heart, and you need a transformation in your way of thinking, you’re in good company! Come to Trinity Downtown this weekend, where you can hear what Jesus has to say to your heart. Come as we celebrate the power of God to transform our hearts and lives. Come, and invite a friend who might need their faith renewed.