Lord,
You know recently I've been sort of inflammed, in a bad way, by the idea that others often use one another, or try best one another in order to feel above another. It's been bothering me deeply. Lord, thank you for today's reading. September 22, 2024. They're spot on. "Those who wish to be first will be last..." This is an admonishment not just to "others" who are unequivocally guilty of what I mentioned above, but also to me. Not to be like that. I may not overtly do it in such a bald faced way, but I certainly do it with othering. I do it sometimes with my spirituality. I do try to improve my relationship with you, Lord. But my motivations are often muddied, and I need to be careful how I talk about it. As a spiritual leader leader of sorts, I talk about some of my spiritual life to normalize the idea of actively working on it, and also having a spiritual director. I think those can be good things. But sometimes there's a tinge of pride in there. My othering is really the same thing as the behavior I think is so abhorrent in others.
Lord, deliver me from my pride. Please help keep me humble, and if it be your will, please keep it from hurting. Thank you for another realization that I am barely, if at all, better than others with regard to trying to create a class of people below me. Lord I beg you increase my love for you, and for others.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.