The Lord has been highlighting humility to me lately but when I realized I would have to talk about humility and pride, on video, I said no thank you! Because honestly, I struggle with pride and I didn’t want to share that. But here we are.
WHAT IS PRIDE (OR ARROGANCE)
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 (1 Peter 5:5)
First, let’s discuss the definition of pride. In my research, I feel like gotquestions.org explained it best: Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves. Pride is essentially self-worship. But the article first explained that: There is a difference between the kind of pride that God hates (Proverbs 8:13) and the kind of pride we can feel about a job well done (Galatians 6:4) or the kind of pride we express over the accomplishment of loved ones (2 Corinthians 7:4). The kind of pride that stems from self-righteousness or conceit is sin, however, and God hates it because it is a hindrance to seeking Him.
Read the full article here: https://www.gotquestions.org/pride-Bible.html
PRIDE PATTERN
There is a pattern of pride in the Bible. Boastful kings and stubborn people are continually humbled before the Lord, which often results in them returning to the Lord or releasing those being oppressed by them in some way. A few characters brought low by God in the Bible include King David, Solomon, Nebuchadnezzer, Belshazzar, Nimrod, Hezekiah, Uzziah, basically all the rulers in the book of Judges, Saint Peter, Judas Iscariot, oh yeah and Satan.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:12 (also Luke 14:11)
SATAN’S FAVORITE TACTIC
Satan used pride in the garden to get Eve to sin. Pride is a difficult sin to spot because it can be so subtle. The devil doesn’t come to us in an obvious way, like with a pitchfork. If he did, we’d easily recognize him and reject him. Instead, he comes in an enticing way, entertaining us and tapping into our desires and insecurities.
When satan came to Eve it initially may have appeared innocent.
“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1
Satan went on to convince Eve that the fruit was good and that she could be like God (Genesis 3:5). Isn’t that so like what happens to all of us in the flesh? However, for us, pride doesn’t happen in a perfect world, like the Garden of Eden. The enemy can now use a rough world for his corrupt purposes. Satan was cast away from God’s because he tried to exalt himself above God.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:12-14
DIGGING UP THE PAST
When the Lord kept bringing the topic of pride before me, I realized He wanted me to learn a few things. God wanted me to remember why I, myself, became prideful in the past, before I knew Him. I realized that I became prideful as a response to pain. I’m a very sensitive person. I was a red-headed, super skinny, socially awkward, freckle-faced kid. This combined with the fact that I had very little supervision placed me in some pretty uncomfortable situations as a child and teenager. I learned pretty quickly to pretend that I could take care of myself, I didn’t need anybody nor did I care about what anyone thought. But I did care… a LOT.
For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16
As a young adult, I was broken inside and had no relationship with Jesus. So I clung to whatever seemed helpful from the world and the devil loved it. I learned that in the world being successful, pretty, perfect and highly intelligent felt powerful and was better than being bullied and knocked around. I also wanted to be like God. I began to control my own life so much that I worked over 40 hours a week as a respected professional, strived for a perfect appearance and thought I was nailing it. I even tried to be like God for family members, promising them that I would never let them down and would take care of them, rescuing them out of any situation. And I tried to be that person with all my might, but ultimately, it led to hurting people I loved, because I’m not capable of fulfilling the role that only God can fill. I had to learn the hard way not to put myself or others on a pedestal that can only be claimed by God.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
THE WORLD WILL LOVE YOU
People will praise you for striving to be perfect, give you attention and encourage you to stay in that mindset. But it is an empty, unfulfilling and destructive life because it’s missing the main ingredient – Jesus. Remember Jesus said:
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. John 15:19
When I had to untangle myself from pride and weave in Jesus, my life changed. Because God was in the driver’s seat, not me. The moment I realized I suffered from pride was when I was arguing with my husband. I was so convinced I was right that I held on to my position like a vice grip. In the middle of that argument, the Lord told me to let it go and apologize. That idea was like death to me. In that moment, I realized I had pride.
The Bible refers to a prideful person as a scoffer, someone who is always pointing a finger at someone else, often mocking them.
“Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. Proverbs 21:24
An arrogant person turns away from repentance, but the arrogance often stems from past trauma. Recovering from pride can be the most difficult because satan is constantly trying to pull you back in.
THE WORLD MADE ME DO IT
Basically, our entire lives we are bombarded with pride from the world. Personally, I’d love to just blame pride on the world and be done with it. Or just laugh it off in memes because we are surrounded and rooted in a world full of arrogance.
Self-centered indulgence, pride and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.
Billy Graham
We are so used to accepting pride because we are constantly fed these false truths such as ‘do what’s best for you’ and ‘standing in your truth’ and similar statements like that. The thing is, when we are rooted in God, the phrase should shift to ‘do what is best for God and His kingdom’ and ‘standing in God’s truth’. That includes the Word of God being the authority in all things, not our opinions.
FALSE HUMILITY
The difficult thing about pride is it’s easy to mask it. False humility has taken root through using phrases like ‘just love your neighbor’ and acting like you have someone else’s best interest at heart when really you are only doing it for recognition or your own honor. Pride is internal, it dwells in the heart. Even a little bit of pride can take root in the heart and grow into something toxic.
Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ Deuteronomy 29:18-19
THE ANTIDOTE
The antidote to pride is humility. We can take these prideful thoughts and give them to the Lord. Just like I had to do with the argument with my husband. I reluctantly did as the Lord asked, I laid down my pride and said I was sorry. But then I had to go to God and give Him my hurt and resentment so it didn’t fester and remain. Otherwise, it would not have been true humility because it would have stayed rooted in my heart. Surprisingly, the Lord took those feelings away from me when I did that. He replaced it with His understanding, peace and comfort. Each time I do this with God, it gets easier.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
The thing about wounds is that if you don’t tend to them right away, they can get infected and become deadly. It is the same with laying down pride. We must ask God to remove anything that is festering so that we can truly release our hurt and injury to Him and not carry it on to the next battle that arises.
Give glory to the Lord your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light He turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness. But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. Jeremiah 13:16-17
LOVE NEVER FAILS
True love requires humility. This, I believe, relates to when Jesus said – If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also (Luke 6:29). In doing so, we may soften the other person’s heart, bringing them back to God. Pride fuels our desire to hold on to the illusion of power, control and worship of ourselves. Humility softens the heart and allows us to act like Jesus. A humble heart cares more about the other person, than being right.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)
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