PRIDE
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). The love of God is beyond our understanding. He loves the lost and even sent His Son Jesus to provide salvation for all who believe (John 3:16). It is His love for man, His compassion for the human race, that prompts God to hate sin with such a vengeance. He gave Heaven’s finest that we might have the best; and He loathes with a holy abhorrence anything that would hinder us from being reconciled to Him(Billy Graham). God hates certain things; He hates things that bring His children pain. There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community (Proverbs 6:16-19).
God hates a proud look. Remember how Nebuchadnezzar had to eat grass like an ox because he spoke with a haughty tongue? Wherever God sees pride lifting itself on high, He resolves to level it in the dust. He draws his bow, he fits his arrow to the string, and pride is the target that he shoots at. The more pride enters into the Christian’s heart the less grace will enter there, and the more opposition from God will come there; for pride is never so hateful to God as when he sees it in his own people. (Charles Spurgeon)
God’s loathing of pride is unalterable, for “Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Prov.16:5). The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). It says, “those who walk in pride He is able to put down” (Daniel 4:37). “Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!” (Jeremiah 50:31). God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble (James 4:6).
Pride was man’s first sin and it will be his last. In the first sin that man ever committed, there was certainly a large mixture of pride, for he imagined that he knew better than his Maker–and even dreamed that his Maker feared that man might grow too great! This sin of pride is often forgotten; and many persons do not even think it is a sin at all. Here is a man who says that he is absolutely perfect. Does he know what the sin of pride really is? Hunt among the highest and loftiest in the world, and you shall find it there; and then go and search among the poorest and the most miserable, and you shall find it there. Pride is a strange creature; it never objects to its lodgings. It will live comfortably enough in a palace, and it will live equally at its ease in a hovel.
Pride was the first sin to destroy the calm of eternity. It was pride that cast Lucifer from heaven and it was pride that cost our first parents their place in Paradise. Pride is the first sin to enter a man’s heart and the last to leave. No sin is more offensive to God than the sin of pride. Pride has been referred to as the “complete anti-God state of mind.” It militates against God’s authority, God’s law, and God’s rule. This is why the Bible equates rebellion with witchcraft (1 Sam.15:23). Pride assaults God’s throne and asserts its independence in an attempt to dislodge God as the Sovereign of the universe.
Pride, the first-born son of hell, unclean and vile, is a ringleader and captain among iniquities, daring and God-defying sin. It has nothing lovely in it. Pride exalts it head, and seeks to honor itself; but it is of all things most despised. Pride wins no crown; men never honor it, not even the menial slaves of earth; for all men look down on the proud man, and think him less than themselves.
It is easy enough for a man to become proud of his possessions. Another man, with no possessions, is proud of his bodily strength; he is very strong, let anybody wrestle with him, and he shall see the spirit of Samson in him. He is proud of his strength of muscle and sinew and bone. Another man is proud of his talent. If he has not acquired any wealth by it, yet he ought to have done so. If the world has not yet recognized him as a genius, he has recognized himself most distinctly. He is a very first-class man in his own line of things; you can’t imagine listening to how he boasts of what he has learned! We have known others boast of their character too.
No man in the world is free from this vice – Pride. Everyone loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. The more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. Do you neglect prayer and intake of the Word? Is it hard for you to let others know when you need help (practical or spiritual)? Do you have a hard time admitting when you are wrong? Do you generally think your way is the right way, the only way, or the best way? Do you look down on those who are less educated, less affluent, less refined, or less successful than yourself? That is Pride.
Prophets and evangelists have lifted up their voices against Pride. The everlasting God has mounted to the very heights of eloquence when he would condemn the pride of man; and the full gushing of the Eternal's mighty language has been most gloriously displayed in the condemnation of the pride of human nature.
PRIDE IS SATANIC
Pride caused the fall of Lucifer, and he became Satan, the devil. It was through pride that the devil fell. What an insidious thing pride is! Lucifer became the devil when he arrogantly became infatuated with himself. Yes, Lucifer is a created being. God said, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” (Ezekiel.28:15). This beautiful, powerful, intelligent, and gifted cherub fell from his perfect estate when his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and brightness (Ezekiel.28:17). Self-will displaces God’s will, and the devil emerges. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!...For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:12-14).
Pride tarnish Lucifer's glory, rob him of his harp, despoil him of his crown. He was a bright angel chanting the loud anthem of praise before God's throne; He has now become Father of nights, even the Lord of Darkness, Satan, the Fallen one. No longer was he willing to be subservient to the Creator. Staggering pride was to blame for the tragedy in heaven.
VARIETIES OF PRIDE
There are 3 varieties of Pride – Vanity, Conceit, and Arrogance.
1. Vanity is preoccupied with appearances. The vain person derives self-esteem from the turned head, public honors, and tokens of success. it relies on the approval of others. They offer their appearance as a means of seducing others into thinking well of them, which in turn is a means of seducing themselves to think well of themselves, which makes them vulnerable to the shifting opinions of the crowd, the passage of time, the contingencies of fate, and the prominence of competitors. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves (Philippians 2:3).
2. Conceit is an exaggerated opinion of one’s virtues and accomplishments. It is intensely adversarial, demands preeminence and will brook no rival. It seeks not so much excellence as superiority. If need be, the conceited will diminish others to elevate themselves—as when a musician disparages a peer’s work because it is too popular to be “serious.” He thinks himself superior in everything that really matters, that is, superior in the areas that matter. We see conceit in the Pharisee who, casting a contemptuous glance at a nearby tax collector, piously thanked God that he was not “like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). Conceit depends on transmuting real or imagined virtues into a general feeling of personal superiority. People may, for example, take pride in being born with exceptional athletic ability, a fine singing voice. That is why the apostle Paul failed to puncture the Corinthians’ conceit when he demanded, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:6).
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own conceits (Romans 12:16).
3. Arrogance is a feeling of superiority that shows itself in a lofty, overbearing manner. Whereas vanity needs admirers and conceit needs inferiors, arrogance needs no one. It stands clear of the crowd. The arrogant are a law unto themselves; they do not need other people to validate their self-image. What other people think or achieve is neither here nor there. The arrogant are too proud to be vain or conceited. This is the epitome of pride. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate (Proverbs 8:13).
These three forms of pride—vanity, conceit, and arrogance— often crop up together in various combinations and degrees. This classification helps to lay bare the varied and subtle manifestations of sinful pride. Individuals tend to fall into predominate types, but people are complex and constantly changing and so are likely to defy simple labels.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PRIDE
1. Sinfully Competitive.
Pride is competitive by its very nature – while other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident (C.S. Lewis ). Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. Each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride. We are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking ,there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud, the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone. Greed may drive men into competition if there is not enough to go round; but the proud man, even when he has got more than he can possibly want, will still try to get more just to assert his power. Power is what a proud person really enjoys: nothing makes a man feel so superior to others as being able to move them about like toy soldiers. If I am a proud man, then, as long as there is one man in the whole world more powerful, or richer, or cleverer than I, he is my rival and my enemy. A proud always want to win or come out on top and it bothers him when he doesn’t.
2. Self Sufficient.
Pride will get into the Christian's heart as well as the sinner's—it will flourish under the name of self-sufficiency, teaching the Christian that he is "rich and increased in goods, having need of nothing." It will tell him that he does not need daily grace, that past experience will do for tomorrow—that he knows enough, toils enough, prays enough. It will make him forget that he has "not yet attained;" it will not allow him to press forward to the things that are before, forgetting the things that are behind. It enters into his heart, and tempts the believer to set up an independent business for himself, and until the Lord brings about a spiritual bankruptcy, pride will keep him from going to God.
A proud person doesn’t live with a constant awareness that his breath is dependent upon the will of God. He says, “I have enough strength, ability and wisdom to live and manage my life”. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)
3. Envy and Jealousy.
Pride flourishes in the heart, springing up without sowing, and growing without watering. The Christian is the last man who ought to be proud of all creatures in the world; and yet, we have had mournful evidence both in past history and in our own personal experience, that Christian men may become lifted up, to their own shame. Pride and self-conceit had led the members of the church in Corinth to choose for themselves distinct leaders, and to arrange themselves under separate banners: the followers of this man thinking themselves better than the followers of that. Thus, the body of Christ was divided, and all sorts of ill feeling, jealousy, emulation and envy sprang up in the church of God where all ought to have been mutual helpfulness and loving unity. Paul therefore earnestly, and with great wisdom, assailed the spirit of pride. Paul had been kept from self-seeking and deceit, intensely active, strong-minded, high-souled man, and he had done a grand life-work by which the church is still affected; and yet had nothing whereof to glory. He says distinctly, "By the grace of God I am what I am." He counted his own righteousness as worthless, and only desired that he might be found in Christ, arrayed in the righteousness which is of God by faith.
4. Demean or Belittle Others.
A proud person glories in what he possesses thereby undervaluing fellow Christians, and that is a great sin. When a man exalts himself because of what he possesses he does not act as a soldier of the cross should do. "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones that believe in me"(Matthew 18:10); but if we over-estimate ourselves the natural consequence is that we under-estimate others. Have I ever thought, "I am a rich man; and these poor people, though good Christians, are nobodies compared to me: I am of far more consequence to the church"? Have I conceived, because I have a measure of talent, that those holy men and women who cannot speak for Christ are of no great account? Or have I snuffed out the young ones, and said "They are only a pack of boys and girls"? Is this the way to speak of those who were bought with the blood of Christ, and are members of Christ's body? It will not do for us to despise the meanest saint. I believe there are many who are now pushed into the background and shoved into any hole and corner whom Christ looks upon with special delight, and will place first when he comes. Verily I say unto you, "There are first that shall be last, and there are last that shall be first."(Matthew 20:16)
5. Deceitful and Pretentious.
Pride is the disposition to exalt self, get above others and conceal our defects. Ever since the fall, man has had the tendency to confess someone else’s sins instead of his own. This is hardly surprising since the heart of man is “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). And the reason man’s heart is so deceitful is because of inborn haughtiness. “Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart” (Jeremiah 49:16). The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground? Obadiah 1:3 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4); Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood. (Jeremiah 48:10). A proud person hides the truth about himself, and lie to preserve his reputation.
6. Desire Recognition and Praise.
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1).
7. Anxious.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
8. Not Teachable.
Leaders who are assured they know everything don’t bother about personal growth. Their ego convinces them that they have arrived, and they quit searching for life’s lessons in the people and circumstances around them. “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1)
9. Know It All.
“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” (1 Corinthians 8:1)
10. Ungrateful.
Being ungrateful is a sin which cause a person to lose God's blessings.(Luke, 17:11-19) "…. giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6).
WORKS CITED
The Trial of Your Faith: Sermons on 1 & 2 Peter and Jude By Charles Spurgeon
"On Humbling Ourselves Before God" By Charles Spurgeon
"Things God Hates" by Billy Graham
"Pride the Destroyer" by Charles Spurgeon
"Pride goes before Destruction" by Bishop M.A. Lalachan
"Pride" by Evangelist Harold Vaughn
"Pride and Humility" By Charles Spurgeon
"Practical Observation -Exposition on the book of Job " by Joseph Caryl
"Pride" by https://christlifemin.org/category/pride/
"Pride " by C.S. LEWIS
"Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis
Several sources from the Internet.
James Dina
Jodina5@gmail.com
28th July 2020
