Jason Day had a tough first round at The Open Championship yesterday, finishing 2 over par with a score of 73. Regardless of where he finishes this week, Day is still a tremendous player whose game has gone to another level. At the moment he’s the world’s #1 ranked golfer, but top golfers like Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and Rory McIlroy are right behind him.

Earlier this week when asked about The Open and competing against those guys, Day said, “I’m not so worried about them beating me, I’m worried about myself beating myself, that’s the biggest thing…to really try to conquer yourself and try to conquer your ego at times…if they beat me just because they play better, that’s fine, but if I beat myself and let them beat me, that’s what is disappointing and frustrating.”

We know how important the mental game of golf is, and at the highest level, there is definitely ego involved. Having confidence that great shots can be made throughout the course is certainly a positive thing, but not when the ego gets so big that guys make bad decisions.

As followers of Jesus, we need to be aware of whether our own ego is healthy or not. Are we struggling in areas of life because we’re allowing ourselves to beat ourselves? I don’t believe we can fully “conquer our ego” unless we have a proper view of God and rely on Him to provide us strength. When our heart leans toward self instead of God, we get out of balance.

Too often we are our own worst enemies, and our ego, selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-reliance get us into trouble. Our confidence should be in Jesus and His work on the cross, but unfortunately we tend to put too much emphasis on a belief in ourselves.

Ultimately, the core issue is the battle against pride. The Bible says in Proverbs 11:2 (ESV), “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”

A confident, yet humble golfer who doesn’t let his ego take over, can make wise decisions and have wonderful success on the course. Today as we consider the pride in our own lives, let’s lean toward humility and wisdom while viewing ourselves in light of Jesus’ great love and sacrifice. Let’s trust Him to “conquer our ego.” I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You give me life and strength and I am nothing apart from You. Please forgive me for thinking I can do things on my own. Teach me to have the proper view of You, so that my ego doesn’t get in the way of doing Your work. Please forgive me for my pride and help me to stop losing to myself. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.