A Father’s Pride Series

INTRO.- I Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Pride is not good. Most of the time it is not good because it deals with self and not others.

ILL.- I love the old story about a lady who went to preacher to make a confession. She said to him, “I must confess a great sin in my life.” He said, “What is it?” She said, “It’s the sin of pride. I stand in front of my mirror and admire my beauty for hours on end.” The preacher replied, “Lady, your sin is not the sin of pride. IT’S THE SIN OF THE IMAGINATION!”

Sometimes people imagine themselves as being far greater or far better looking than they really are! And that is a sin, anyway you cut it!

Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

ILL.- A news release told of a Charlotte, North Carolina, woman who set a world record while playing a convenience store video game. After standing in front of the game for fourteen hours and scoring an unprecedented seven and a half million points on a game called "Tapper," the woman was pleased to see a TV crew arriving to record her efforts. She continued to play while the crew, alerted by her fiancé, prepared to shoot. However, she was appalled to see the video screen suddenly go blank. While setting up their lights, the camera team had accidentally unplugged the game, thus bringing her bid for ten million points to an untimely end! The effort to publicize her achievement became the agent of her ultimate failure.

When you’re good at something, don’t advertise it. It will be evident. No, if you are good at something and it’s something good, advertise the Lord instead.

I Corinthians 1:30-31 “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

I Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Pride in oneself is not good unless we give the Lord the credit for that good and point to Him. Having pride in someone else can be a form of commendation or a compliment.

As in: “I’m proud of you. You did a good job.” I think it’s great when we take some pride in the accomplishments of others and commend them. We humans are often slow to commend others. We are quick to criticize but slow to commend.

What does pride have to do with fatherhood? A lot. I think most fathers have a certain amount of pride in some areas of their lives. And that can be a good type of pride if directed toward the Lord.

PROP.- A father’s pride can be seen in several areas of his life.

1- He has pride in his children

2- He has pride in his work

3- He has pride in his faith

I. HE HAS PRIDE IN HIS CHILDREN

Job 29:4-5 “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me.”

Don’t we all want God’s intimate friendship to bless our homes? That doesn’t just happen when the children are still at home, however. God’s intimate friendship can bless our homes as we make Him our intimate friend by welcoming Him into every area of our lives: marriage, work, socializing, worship, etc.

Psalm 8:2 “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”

How can a father or a mother not be proud of their children when they hear their children sing praise to God and pray.

ILL.- On April 9-12 I flew to Richmond, VA, to visit my daughter Holly and her family. When 4 year old Hayden prayed at the table in the past, she prayed fast, “Thank you, God, for this food. Amen. Amen.” This year she prayed, “Thank you, God, for this food and help us to have a good trip to Disneyworld.”

How can a parent not be proud of a small child who is willing and able to pray? Sweet are children’s prayers.

Psalm 34:11 “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

How does a father teach his children the fear of the Lord? By fearing the Lord himself! When a father fears the Lord and shows reverence for the Lord through personal worship and public worship, he has a better chance of teaching his children to fear the Lord. When he makes the Lord a priority his children have a better chance of doing the same.