Breaking The Power Of Pride

There are basically two types of evil on this earth - natural evils which include earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, flash floods, etc. Things that take lives and bring devastation to humankind and the rest of creation. And then there are moral evils - evils that people commit, for example mental, emotional, or physical abuse, slander, assassination of character, torture of innocent people, human trafficking, rape, murder, racism, terrorist attacks.

So when you think about these types of moral evils, which evil acts upsets you the most, which ones can you say that you hate the most? What moral evil do you think God hates the most? No doubt God hates all the evils mentioned, but if we look through the scripture, we can see that one of the evils God hates the most is pride.

Prov 8:13 says,

All who fear the LORD will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.

Last week we spoke about envy and jealousy and as we continue in our Wisdom that Works series today, we have come to the subject of Pride. The writer of Proverbs continually compares the actions, attitudes, and outcomes of fools vs. the wise. Pride is a characteristic used to describe the heart attitude of the fool, the wicked, the mocker, the gossip, the slanderer, contentious, lawless, faithless, and unteachable. Humility, on the other hand, is a characteristic that describes the wise, the righteous, the gentle, and those who are teachable. Pro 11:2 in the amplified version says,

When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then comes dishonor and shame, but with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.

When I’m talking about pride, I am not talking about the kind of pride we can feel about a job well done or the kind of pride we express over the accomplishment of loved ones but of the negative side of pride of which we all fall victim.

Today we are going to be asking the following questions:

? What is pride?

? Where is it found?

? How is it manifested?

? What is the remedy?

What is pride?

The Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines pride as,

an inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one’s own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others; insolence; rude treatment of others; and insolent exultation.

In the Scriptures, pride almost always carries a negative connotation. The Hebrew words translated “pride” and “haughty” in Proverbs 16:18 both have to do with height, with being lifted up.

The first one to lift himself up against God was Lucifer, otherwise known as Satan (Isa 14; Ezek 28:17). Iniquity was found in the heart of this created, finite being because of his beauty and then he corrupted his wisdom for sake of his own splendor. In other words, he was lifted up with pride.

Who else committed the sin of pride?

Ever since the fall, man has been a proud creature. Indeed, the exercise of pride was one essential part of his fall. Not content with the honor and immortality with which he was crowned, he proudly desired to become as a god, knowing good and evil. The same proud disposition has ever since constituted a principal feature in the character of fallen man.

Pride is rebellion against God because it attributes to self the honor and glory due to God alone. Pride is when we refuse to accept our creatureliness; we refuse to admit that we are limited, frail, fallen and dependent. We will be high and mighty, and we will do whatever it takes to preserve ourselves. We make ourselves the sole source of our identity. Self is at the center of everything we do. Everything is about us.

And as some have arrogantly concluded, we are the master of our own fate. Pride is when we think we know how to handle life better than God, when we become so self-absorbed and believe we have the power to save ourselves and determine our own destiny. Pride says I do not need God because I know better. Which brings me to my second question:

2. Where is pride found?

Pride is found in the heart of each and every human being, and that includes you and me. Because of the Fall, we are born with it - it is part of our human nature. And because of the Fall and personal sin, we do not act or think as we were created to. Sin is humankind’s rebellious, prideful desire to be independent of God. Martin Luther said, “all sin is pride.” We all struggle with pride but most of the time we are not aware of it in ourselves and even if we are made aware of it we often rationalize it away. A practical example is when we try to justify our sin by downplaying it, making it seem harmless, like a little lie, I only stole something once, what I did was not as bad as so and so...