Self-confidence is not Pride

An excerpt from "A Work of Heart" by Reggie McNeal

"Contrast David's personal perception of self-confidence to that of Saul's sense of inferiority. Saul's lack of ego strength bred paranoid and schizophrenic behavior. Saul never saw himself as king. He told Samuel the prophet that he had chosen the wrong man because Saul was from a small tribe and an undistinguished family. When Saul anointed Samuel as king, Saul did not tell anyone about it. He had to be coaxed out of hiding on the day of his presentation. This action should not be mistaken for humility. It revealed a self image problem that eventuated in Saul's incapacity to establish solid relationships. Saul's public failures were perfectly consonant with his internal view of himself.
David's security in himself did not lead him into believing more about himself than he should. He did not ever fully believe his press. He knew where his real source of strength resided. His confidence grew out of the security of his own relationship with his King."

So as you can see, in this situation David's self-confidence was not pride. It was rooted in something much deeper than that. Self-confidence in the life of a believer is supremely important in the fulfillment of God's mission for our lives. God commands us to love one another and love our enemies. If we are to truly follow the example of our savior in this area then we must not only love people in our minds but also in our actions. Without believers who are self-confident it makes this part very difficult. We must be confident enough to walk up to a guest on Sunday morning, shake their hand, hear about their lives and ask, "How can I pray for you?" We must be confident enough to do the right thing in a situation where everyone around us is doing the wrong thing. We must be confident enough to sit down with a complete stranger and tell them the gospel with a heart of love.

As Christians we should be more confident in ourselves than anyone else. This is not based out of pride, arrogance, naiveness, or presumption. It is based on the fact that we are sons and daughters of the King of Kings. Jesus emphasizes this while giving us our great commission. He gives us an impossible task of making disciples of all the nations of the Earth. Then he says in Mat 28:20 "Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age." If God is with us, who can be against us?