What one attribute is most loathed by Christians and non Christians alike ?
It is the one vice that no man in the world is free of and yet when they see it in others they are loathed?
I speak of Pride or Self Conceit - (and the virtue opposite is Humility.)
It is one of the most insipient of all negative attributes and yet it in my opinion humbles many of the rest. Being unchase, Quick to Anger, Possessing Greed and even drunkenness, pale beside it for it was from Pride itself that caused Satan himself became the devil.
It is a sin that even the most Christian of individuals deceive themselves with as they all too often feel themselves to be approved by God and think themselves therefor better than the rest of mankind. Yes and while they pay a triffling amount of homage toward God they extract a pounds worth of Pride toward their fellow man. Have we not all seen them and perhaps even been there ?
Be watchful for it in yourselves - I can guarantee you will find it. Combat it in every way and Praise the Lord for all things accomplished. Understanding and acknowledging that it is though Him alone that all things are accomplished. If that is indeed the case there is no place for self righteous Pride.
Guard yourselfs against it for if it were powerful enough to turn one of the Lord’s sacred Angels into the devil what then can it do to you if you leave yourself unguarded ?
Some scripture relative to Pride.
Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 13:10
Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
Proverbs 8:13
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
Daniel 4:37
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Leviticus 26:19
I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.
Job 33:17
to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,
Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
Daniel 5:20
But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
† Yours in Christ †
Dennis C.
Christian Fellowship
Cocoa Beach, Florida
