Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.
(Psalm 16:18-19 NIV)
When considering pride, we must first make a distinction between healthy pride and sinful pride.
Pride can mean healthy self-esteem. Taking pride in my work is a healthy thing. Being proud of my grandson's growth in his basketball season is a good thing (way to go, Eli!). We human beings are bearers of the very image of the Living God. Believing we are junk or living in shame is not God's will or way for us.
On the other hand, exaggerated self-importance is the source of all kinds of sin in our lives, the first being arrogance. This is the sinful pride that grips the heart of the leader who considers himself too important to mop a floor or the ugly American who considers foreigners or the poor beneath them.
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride is the core of sin, and leads to all kinds of destruction. At the simplest level, pride gets in the way of healthy things like admitting when I am wrong and apologizing to someone I have hurt. At a deeper level, pride gets in the way of submitting to Jesus. Pride says, "I've got this, Lord. I'll do it my way." At this deeper level, pride cuts off the relationship between God and me.
The center of prIde is "I". And so is the center of sIn. Pride was at the center of the first sin, when Lucifer sought to make himself God and was cast out of heaven. Pride was at the center of his first temptation and of Adam's and Eve's first sin. "Eat the fruit and you will become like God." No, it's deeper than that. "Eat the fruit and you will become god to yourself."
Like all the seven deadly sins, this is a heart issue. Who will sit on the throne of my heart and direct my life? Will it be Self? Or will it be my rightful King, Jesus? When Self sits on the throne of my heart, Jesus is left out and all kinds of chaos and brokennes fills my life. When Jesus sits on that throne, He brings order to all the parts of my life and I can begin to live a life that matters to the Kingdom of God and lives by eternal purposes.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
(1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV)
Love is not proud. And therefore pride is not love. And since God is love (1 John 4:8), pride is anti-God.
What is the remedy for pride? The Godly virtue that replaces pride in a believer's heart is humility. Humility is having a modest and realistic estimate of one's own importance. Romans 12:3 says: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Humility neither thinks more highly nor more lowly of ourselves than is realistic. I am, at the same time, a sinner saved by grace and a child of the one true King.
Humility is also the essence of embracing Jesus' Lordship in our lives. When I humble myself to my true King by obedience to His will, He takes His rightful place on the throne of my heart. Humility is the pathway to Christlikeness.
Jesus humbled Himself. The Glorious One took on the limitations of human flesh. The Living one became obedient to death. And God exalted Him to the highest place, giving Him the Name that is above every name. (Philippians 2:1-11) This is the pathway to Christlikeness. The more we love Jesus and pursue His will for our lives, the more we become like Him.
Pride says, "I don't need God to succeed."
Humility says, "I cannot succeed without God."
Pride says, "I'll live life my way and make my own happiness."
Humility says, "I belong to Jesus, and I'll live life His way and trust Him for everything."
Pride says, "I am lord of my own life."
Humility says, "Jesus is Lord - not only of the cosmos, but of me."
The Holy Spirit seeks to fill our lives with holy love. And holy love is not proud. (Again, 1 Corinthians 13:4) Humility is the pride-buster that sets us free from the grip of sin and death. Humble abandonment to Jesus is the single most important heart attitude that leads to our being made holy (being sanctified) by the Holy Spirit. The choice is both simple and stark. As John the Baptist said, "He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30 NIV)
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.
Today, Jesus, you be the Lord of my life. In humility, I ask you to take the throne of my heart and rule there in your holy love. I'll trust you to make my life everything it is meant to be.
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