Man’s Destruction; Pride.
What does the bible say about pride? From a biblical perspective pride falls into two categories; sinful pride and righteous pride.
The more common of the two, sinful pride, is pride that exalts itself above God. This kind of pride refuses correction. It seeks independence from God and looks down on others while also claiming the credit for oneself over that of God. This kind of pride is consistently condemned by God throughout the bible.
Righteous pride is pride not of arrogance but a sense of gratitude for what God has done. It’s a joy in God’s work towards oneself or others. It’s a confidence rooted in God, not self. Boasting in the Lord is an example of righteous pride. This righteous pride is not the pride I’m going to be discussing today.
What I’m writing on here is a warning about the disastrous and spiritually dangerous effects of sinful pride. It’s the pride that blinds the heart; hardens the heart, makes a person spiritually numb, unteachable, unrepentant, self-reliant and separated from God.
This kind of pride leads to disgrace, destruction and downfall. This kind of pride competes with God for glory. It doesn’t just distance us from God but opposes us against God as it tries to steal what belongs to God.
If you believe you’re self-reliant, self-righteous, morally superior, are ungrateful for what God has done or fail to acknowledge what God has done, you’re walking in sinful pride. When you become stubborn, refuse correction, obsess over your own image, reputation or status, consequences follow.
Separation from God causes nothing but strife. Separation from God fractures the inner life, leaving the heart to carry burdens it was never designed to bear, which inevitably spills out as conflict, confusion and unrest.
When the source of love, wisdom and alignment is removed, strife becomes the natural by-product, both within the person and in every relationship touched by that inner dislocation; the space created when the soul is no longer aligned to its true centre - God. It’s not dramatic on the surface, it’s subtle, like something inside has shifted a few degrees off its proper axis.
When a person is connected to God, there’s an internal orientation, an instinctive sense of direction, meaning and coherence. Separation disrupts that coherence. The person still moves, decides and acts but without the inner touch that keeps everything integrated and this is why strife emerges.
I’ve heard it said that pride is the mother of all sins. Pride goes before downfall. God actively resists the proud. Price causes a person to be unable to see truth and with that comes a loss of wisdom.
There are a number of examples of pride and its consequences in the bible. Pride started right at the beginning of the book with Lucifer who became impressed by his own beauty, power and intelligence. The Lord dealt swiftly with him, throwing him out of heaven and telling him, “on your belly you will go.” This was before Adam was even created. Ezekiel discus’s Lucifer in chapter 28:13-16.
Next was Adam and Eve. They ate of the forbidden fruit and while a visible transgression, the deeper issue behind it was the desire to be like God. Satan tempted them, by appealing to their pride. See Gen 3:5.
Then we have the Tower of Babel spoken of in Gen 11:4-9. People decided to build a tower to make a name for themselves. It symbolized self-exaltation. Pride leads to division and disobedience, as the Lord then scattered the people and mixed their speech, as He did at this time.
King Saul fell due to pride. He didn’t start out that way. Initially he was a humble leader however he became proud and began to fear losing popularity, when David began to rise in status in the eyes of the people. King Saul became jealous and obsessed over protecting his own status. In his pride, Saul disobeyed God’s commands and chose his own judgement over God’s and God at that time rejected Saul. Saul went into spiritual decline. The king eventually lost his kingdom.
Another king, King Uzziah, also had issues with pride. Uzziah achieved marvellous feats for Judah but forgot at some point that he was doing it for the Lord. As his pride swelled, Uzziah pulled away from God. Uzziah went into the temple and burned incense – a duty allocated only to priests. When confronted about this, Uzziah refused to listen and God struck him with leprosy and he lived the rest of his life isolated.
There’s a danger in success; we tend to forget where we’ve come, if were not careful. Both Saul and Uzziah overstepped their bounds when they became prideful at the height of their fame. Both were brought low and lost out in the long run.
Success and fortune can draw us away from God. We need to remember this, to remember where we came from.
King Nebuchadnezzar’s downfall too, was from pride. Spoken of in Daniel chapter 4 – the King’s great achievements and power went to his head, when he declared he built Babylon with his mighty power and for the glory of his majesty – his, not God’s. God struck him with madness and it wasn’t until years later that he turned his eyes heavenward and humbled himself before God. Only then was his sanity restored.
Pride, arrogance, the refusal to recognise God as the true source of authority, success and stability brings all sorts of calamity on the one who carry’s the pride. It’s in humility and repentance that restoration is given.
Hezekiah got into pride and it affected him, his city and his future generations. 2 Chron 32:25 states; But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favour shown to him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore, wrath was looming over Judah and Jerusalem.
King Hezekiah lay on his bed, dying. He pleaded with God and God miraculously healed King Hezekiah and extended his life. Rather than praise God for this, Hezekiah instead showed off his treasures, revealing them to his enemies who later stole his kingdom and all his treasures. As he lay ill and dying Hezekiah humbled himself and repented and God delayed His sentence of death and judgement towards the king but his kingdom was eventually lost and his children were taken into captivity.
There are many more examples I could give; Pharaoh, Hayman, King Herod, the Pharisee, the tax collector, Simon the magician. Pride is the enemy, humility a friend. God hates pride because He knows what it will do. It will destroy lives, relationships, health, finances. All the areas we hold dear to our hearts.
“Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.” So said John Stott – a remarkably humble man who made great impact for Christ. Pride and humility; the heart of the matter and the heart of the bible which teaches on the deadly roots of sin.
Pride is now celebrated as a virtue, even though biblically recognised as the deadliest of vices. Pride walks hand in hand with arrogance, covering the rich, the famous, the ordinary and even some religious leaders. We are all at risk. Few of us realise the danger it poses to our soul. It hinders our intimacy with God and with the love of our fellow man.
C. S. Lewis, another man who achieved a great impact for Christ, calls pride; “the great sin.” Lewis said; “Pride leads to every other vice.” It is the complete anti-God state of mind. It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and family.
Could this be exaggeration? I don’t believe so. Christianity teaches pride is the utmost evil, unleashing anger, greed, and drunkenness. The saints of old have been warning us of this for centuries. Luther, Calvin, Augustine, Aquinas, as well as Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches all unite around this point.
Make no mistake; pride is a great sin – it’s a spiritual cancer, an anti-God state of mind which pervades silently. Eventually it will lead to a spiritual death, ensnared by self-deception, bringing about erosion and unbelief in the word of God.
The outworking of pride eventually shows up in the affairs of individuals, families, nations and cultures. The knowledge of God is suppressed and a spiritual darkness enters the scene. Man becomes larger in his own eyes, while at the same time, God is diminished. Life moves away from God and self becomes the priority.
Adolf Hitler failed at many things as a youngster and yet pride still got in his way, as he felt his race to be the superior race. One man of many men who believe they’re better than the rest. You saw where that led. It destroyed families and nations. Pride entitles us to do things to other people that are unspeakable.
Pride precedes deception. When you stop seeking the Lord, when you lessen your dependence and reliance on God, you head down a slippery slope. Serious consequences befall man when he heads along this path.
A proud person can’t humble themselves because they think they know everything. God has things to show us and teach us but the proud are not open to learning it if they can’t humble themselves and be teachable. The proud man refuses correction and goes astray.
In our pride, we lose friendships and close relationships as our heart hardens and we condemn those who don’t agree with our ideals. As a prideful person believes they know everything already, they become haughty and arrogant and in being so, they use cutting remarks, often alienating those closest to them.
Humility helps us submit to God’s authority. It allows for correction and helps us see God as He is. It shows us we might be wrong in our thinking. God brings down the proud and exalts the humble.
Don’t lift yourself in praise. If it’s worthy of praise, let others praise you. Also, he who scoffs at another person will not listen to rebuke, even when in their own best interest, for in every criticism is a grain of truth. A wise person sifts through instruction and criticism and searches for that grain of truth.
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18.
The Lord rewards the true, the just, the righteous. You can’t keep God contained in a box. God has to have every area of your life. Allow Him to work in your life, as you walk in humility with Him and He will show you great and mighty things.
Pride is a character flaw and yet we appear blind to it. Pride manifests itself by way of judging, in a lack of gratitude, in anger, as viewing yourself better than others, an inflated view of your importance, in thinking your gifts and abilities are superior.
Perfectionism is a form of pride, as is talking to much about yourself, or being consumed with what others think about you. Seeking independence, angered by criticism, being unteachable (thinking you know everything), degrading towards others, lack of compassion or service-hood towards others, needing recognition, blame shifting, refusing to ask or give forgiveness.
Showing disrespect, voicing opinions when not asked, minimizing your own sin or shortcomings, impatience, irritableness, jealousy, envy, using others for selfish gain. Deceitful gain, covering sins and faults, even not having a close relationship with others.
The above few paragraphs are a long list and this may have surprised you. So many areas can catch us off guard and lead us down wrong paths. I’m sure I haven’t covered them all but it’s good to at least be aware of them.
If you’ve had a moment where you feel pride has entered your heart, confess to the Lord immediately. Don’t brush it off. Don’t hide what you thought or did. Confess quickly and repent. And when confessing, be humble and submissive. Ask God what He wants you to learn from this experience and what He wants from you at this time.
God may ask that you call a person, or that you write a letter, or just that you ponder a moment and think about it. Confess, follow God’s guidance and then let it go. We’re not to get into condemnation for “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ…” (Romans 8:1). Let go and move on.
A foolish person talks too much; that’s how we end up saying and doing the wrong thing. Stop and pause, especially if you feel a check in your spirit. Put a gate at the door of your mouth – pause before speaking. Being sarcastic and hurtful towards someone, attacking and degrading is not Christian.
Much is said about the foolish person. Proverbs has a lot to say on the matter. He who hates correction is stupid, but a humble person attains wisdom from above. He seasons his words with salt and grace. He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow. Strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Any fool can start a quarrel. The lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Final thoughts and examples of pride – What’s the answer? Humility. Seeing yourself as God sees you; we are His workmanship, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a light on the hill, holy and blameless. Be teachable. Value others. Submit to God’s will. Repent!
Jesus is the ultimate model of humility. He chose servanthood over kingship. If we can look to Jesus, remember who God is, along with having a higher esteem of God above our own. If we practice gratitude, acknowledge God as the source, embrace correction, confess sins frequently and quickly, humble ourselves and serve others, we can reshape our position before God – And then we will have good success.
