Pompously Prideful

I have never thought of myself as prideful. But after learning more about pride, I’m sorry to say that this isn’t always the case. I’ve always thought of pride as being boastful, arrogant, or full or yourself. But it is much more than that. So, let’s explore pride in more detail.

Pride is defined as a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as seen in the mind or as displayed in conduct. Further, pride is a state of mind and a condition of the heart in which a person has replaced the rule of God over his life with the rule of his own will. This is where I really struggle. I often get in there in try to intervene in His plans, acting as if I’m in control and I know best.

Pride has been called the “original sin” that is the root of every other sin. C.S. Lewis said that pride “is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

Pride is the root of many other sins such as:

• Jealousy – the resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another that we feel should rightfully be ours. 
• Bitterness – that unpleasant, lingering feeling when someone has offended us, deceived us, or failed to deliver on what we thought they owed us.
• Strife – the competitive craving to be number one including the desire for power, authority and praise.
• Deceitfulness– lying or misleading others by hiding something that we think may make us look bad.  
• Hypocrisy – pretending to be something we are not because we fear being seen and known for what we really are.
• Slander – speaking negatively of others to make ourselves look or feel better.
• Greed – desiring want more for ourselves than God wishes or permits.

It was the sin of pride which transformed Lucifer, the anointed cherub of God, into Satan. The sin of pride also led Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.  In Genesis 3 we read,

“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it”. 

Here are MANY other examples of pride in the Bible. Here are a few:

• King David struggled with pride when he called for an unnecessary census of Israel’s warriors. He trusted more in a strong army rather than in an all-powerful God. God was displeased with the census and punished Israel because of it. (1 Chronicles 21)
• King Uzziah presumed himself worthy of priestly duties. He was unfaithful and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the alter. As a result, he was cursed with leprosy. (2 Chronicles 26:16)
• King Hezekiah became very ill. He prayed and the Lord answered him, giving him a miraculous sign. His heart was proud, and he did not respond to God’s answer, so the Lord’s wrath was upon him.  (2 Chronicles 32:24-25)
• King Nebuchadnezzar let his pride get in the way and took credit for building Babylon. As a result, he was driven from his kingdom. (1 Chronicles 29:11)
•  Herod assumed the status of a god rather than praising the One True God. As a result, he was stuck dead and eaten by worms. (Acts 12:20-23)

Some rather unpleasant outcomes – especially the worm one! What’s the lesson here?  God is quite able to humble the proud and won’t hesitate to do so

What else does the Bible say about pride? Here are a few examples.

• “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 8:13
  
• “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed” 1 Samuel 2:3
  
•  “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
  
• “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Proverbs 13:10
  
• “For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world.”  1 John 2:16 

James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.”

This doesn’t say that God simply ignores the proud. He works in open opposition against them! Pride provokes God to wrath and indignation; it irritates him, agitates him, and displeases him.

So, are you convinced yet that pride is an issue that we should avoid at all costs? Here are some things that we can do to help us to overcome pride and live with humility.

• Pray. Ask God to reveal and remove pride in our hearts, minds, and lives.

• Read the Bible. In order to hear God, we have to listen to His word.
  
• Do what the Bible says. Obedience brings blessing into our lives.
  
• Repent. To keep pride at bay in our lives, we must continually confess and repent of our sin.
  
• Serve others. If we serve others, we can stay humble and avoid pride. It’s really hard to serve others and still be full of pride.
  
• Take your prideful thoughts captive. I’m still not very good at taking my thoughts captive, it usually involves talking to myself and saying things like, “stop it” or “get outta there Satan.” Try to do what we are instructed to do in Philippians. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.”

REFLECT

How does pride manifest itself in your life?

What will you do to overcome the tendency to be prideful?