When a man’s pride props him up,
He admires what’s in the mirror.
His image crumbles under truth.
What remains is reality’s fears.
Woe is that point in a man’s life.
What he thinks matters is unveiled.
No longer as glorious victories,
But in how many times he’s failed.
Thinking pursuits and achievements
Are what shape a man’s reputation.
They turn out vain and vapid under
Heaven’s righteous examination.
The true measure of a man of God
Need only span his heart’s size.
Is there room for humbling truth
Or closed off in comfortable lies?
What if he were to ask the people
Whom he’s cared for and touched.
Do they feel safe within his heart
Or passengers getting just enough?
If this were the end of the story,
All would be left is condemnation.
But that is not what God desires -
Forgoing judgment for salvation.
For the Lord can do amazing things
With a man who swallows his pride.
When he declares need for His help
From a heart broken and contrite.
His Word forms a new foundation,
And opens up an enlightened path.
Letting forgiveness fully abandon
The guilt and shame of the past.
The true test of the man of God is
Will his loved one’s see the change?
Will they get a taste of Christ’s love
From the fruit of redemptive grace?