Pride

June 24

2 Kings 11-12

Psalm 74:12-17

Proverbs 16:17-19

Acts 19

Pride

“Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud.” Proverbs 16:18-19 HCSB

This verse is very familiar to most people. It is one of those verses that even people who don’t know anything about the Bible like to quote. Nobody likes an arrogant person, and we all get a little bit too much satisfaction when a prideful person falls. That is unless we happen to be the person who gets humbled. This principle can be found throughout Scripture. Jesus Himself taught about pride repeatedly during His ministry. He saw the religious pride of the Pharisees and rebuked them harshly. He also called His disciples out on several occasions when they exhibited prideful attitudes. It is difficult to overstate the destruction pride can cause. Pride is the main reason why people do not believe in and worship God. Fallen man tends to worship himself and elevate his desires and wants above anything else. We do not recognize who God is and therefore fail to humble ourselves before Him.

A sure path to destruction is found in exalting ourselves. Pride is so deceptive because it promises the world and cannot deliver. Matthew 23:12 tells us, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (NIV) Pride can come in many forms and is encouraged in our culture. We are taught that we deserve to be exalted. Everybody gets a trophy. You can have whatever you want because you deserve it. You need to look out for number one. We are constantly bombarded with ideas of the importance of having a healthy self-esteem. This is pride disguised as “taking care of yourself.” I’m not suggesting we should have low self-esteem. Thinking poorly of yourself is just as prideful as thinking too highly of yourself because the focus is on you. Our focus should never be on ourselves. Our focus should be on Christ. When our eyes are fixed on Him, we can see ourselves clearly. This inevitably leads to humility. It was pride that caused Satan who was once the most beautiful angel, to be jealous of God’s position and the worship He received. He rebelled against God and fell from Heaven. Since that time, he has used pride as his favorite method to draw humanity away from God. He promises wealth, status, privilege, and honor. This path leads straight to destruction. When we think rightly about God, we can think rightly about ourselves. Focus on ourselves always leads to comparisons which leads to jealousy and discontentment. Keeping our eyes fixed on God creates a humble heart that is content and grateful.