Brokenness

I found Nancy Leigh deMoss's book Brokenness very helpful in looking at what it means to have a "lowly and contrite heart". It is helpful in identifying pride and ways to root it out. 

I live in a high and holy place,

but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the heart of the lowly

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isaiah 57.15

The author says:

Our culture is obsessed with being whole and feeling good. That drive affects even the way we view the Christan life...We want gain without pain; we want the resurrection without going through the grave; we want life without experiencing death; we want a crown without going by way of the cross. But in God's economy the way up is down.

True brokenness is a lifestyle- a moment-by-moment lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of my heart and life- not as everyone else thinks it is but as He knows it to be. 

The higher up we find ourselves in terms of power, influence and wealth- the more people look up to us- the more vulnerable we are to pride and self-deceit, and the more prone we are to be blind to our spiritual needs and deficiencies. Once we are established in a position of influence, we have a reputation to maintain. We have a lot to lose if we get honest about our real spiritual needs. For most of us, the subtle encroachment of pride is more dangerous, and more likely to render us useless to God and others, than any other kind of failure.