It’s good to focus our attention on killing sin because we know that the wages of sin is death. We want to fight sin and temptation through God’s Word and by the power of His Spirit. But when fighting pride, we might be tempted to withdraw from serving due to a fear of sinning or perhaps the fear of man. We focus on the pride by calling it out and naming it for what it is, but perhaps we do not think through the proper means to fight it.

New media enabled by the internet draws out our latest desires for self-promotion and self-importance. We create our online persona by gathering followers, liking photos, tweeting and retweeting, and pinning what we think the world needs to know about us. In a recent article, psychiatrist Keith Ablow warned that we are raising a generation of deluded narcissists. He argues, “We must beware of the toxic psychological impact of media and technology on children, adolescents, and young adults, particularly as it regards turning them into faux celebrities—the equivalent of lead actors in their own fictionalized life stories.”

Christians are fighting this temptation through blog posts and books encouraging obscurity and self-forgetfulness. We know that the pursuit of greatness and glory is empty, meaningless, and will not bring peace.

The good news is we don’t have to fight too hard to be forgotten, because we will be. Each one of us is but a breath away from death and complete disregard. We won’t be remembered, because there are billions of people in the same boat. Few will even make the history books. The same goes for our children. Entire generations will not be remembered.

Why is this good news? Because as we fight pride and embrace obscurity, we can then shift our focus on going hard for Christ.

It’s good to focus our attention on killing sin because we know that the wages of sin is death. We want to fight sin and temptation through God’s Word and by the power of His Spirit. But when fighting pride, we might be tempted to withdraw from serving due to a fear of sinning or perhaps the fear of man. We focus on the pride by calling it out and naming it for what it is, but perhaps we do not think through the proper means to fight it.

If I remember that sin remains in me, I can walk out my faith without the fear of sinning. I already know I will sin. I know that I will have to fight the temptation to be prideful. I don’t take this lightly. But to fight sin by retreating (though at times it may be necessary) isn’t always the answer. At times we must push through and trust God’s Word when Jesus said, “It is finished.”

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