Ted Haggard: "Because of Pride" by Suzanne Hadley on 11/06/2006 at 10:11 AM

I spent this weekend in Denver with some friends, but I had a hard time getting my mind off this whole Ted Haggard thing. When something like this happens, it throws so many things into question. You wonder how someone could live two such different lives.

Fox News printed part of Haggard's letter read yesterday at New Life Church. Haggard wrote

Because of pride, I began deceiving those I love the most because I didn't want to hurt or disappoint them. The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life.

Several years ago I heard Ravi Zacharias say: "If you have pride in your life, you better take care of it — or God will." Those words have stuck with me. "Pride goes before destruction," Proverbs says, "a haughty spirit before a fall." Those words have become cliché, which is unfortunate given their important truth.

This event, while disheartening, has caused me to examine my own heart for signs of pride. Part of me thinks something like this could never happen to me, which betrays my arrogance. I appreciated Justin Taylor's advice, referenced in Ted's recent blog post: 

Pray for yourself and your pastor. "There but for the grace of God go I." Resolve to mortify all ungodly desires in your heart and to boast only in the cross of Jesus Christ.

The only godly pride is that generated from confidence in the Cross. Pride of the flesh says, "I don't need anyone else. I can take care of this sin on my own." We balk at the shame involved in letting others see the parts of our lives that are "repulsive and dark," but it's crucial that we invite the scrutiny of fellow brothers and sisters who can help us recognize and repair damaged cells before they become a full-blown cancer.

Ted Haggard is an example of what pride can do when left unchecked. Still, humility and admission of sin is the first step to restoration. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10) I pray this will be the case for Pastor Haggard.