no, I’m not describing a person, I’m talking about my tires.  As it turns out, the reason my tire pressure light was on all this time, was because all my tires were over inflated.  Yes, I finally had them checked out and this fact was discovered. It was corrected by letting some of the air out of each of my tires, bringing them all down a notch or two, so to speak, to their correct operating pressure.  Apparently, it is not good to drive on tires that are over inflated or under inflated.  That’s why the warning light comes on, so I will know when my tires are not at their intended, best operating pressure.

The irony is, the time before this when my tire warning light was on, all four of my tires were under inflated – air needed to be added, not taken away.  What is going on with my tires anyway?  What got them so puffed up, proud and over inflated? Don’t they know that’s no way to roll in this life?  Apparently not, because all four tires had become over full (of hot air) and needed to have some wind taken out of their sails, so to speak.

My tires have been taking up a lot of my time lately but they’ve been teaching me, too.  What are my tires telling me?  Well, my puffy, proud tires remind me we are not to go through life that way, over inflated and full of self (self importance and self indulgence) – that is not how God wants me to roll.  Matthew 23:11-12 is pretty clear, “The greatest among you will be your servant.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”  (that was my tires’ problem, they had become too puffed up and needed to be humbled, taken down to where they were intended to be in order to function best)

Proverbs 29:23 reminds me, “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”  Paul’s words in Romans 12:3 ring true as he instructs me, ” . . . Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

I am warned (kind of like the warning light in my car telling me my tires were becoming over inflated) “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”   (Proverbs 16:18)

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”  (1 Corinthians 10:12)

I may have ignored the warning light in my car a little too long this last time, allowing my tires to continue to grow in their overly inflated state, unchecked.  I do not want to continue in prideful ways, ignoring the warnings in God’s word.  I want to take to heart the instructions Paul gives in Philippians 2:3-5,

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus:  . . .  He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name,”

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”   (1 Peter 5:6)

Lord, help me not to be like my tires were;  puffed-up, proud and over inflated.  I am not useful to You when I am in that state.  Humble me, so that I can serve Your good purposes.

another time I will write about living under inflated, as my tires were before they became over inflated.  God does not want me to live under inflated either, as I cannot serve Him well in that condition anymore than I can serve Him in my over inflated condition –  but that’s for another post . . .   until then  . . .

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

sincerely,         Grace Day