Ah, yes. Pride. Throughout the Bible we see this fundamental principle repeated: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Examples? Look at...(Proverbs 3:34), “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.” (Isaiah 13:11), “I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.” (Isaiah 23:9), “The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.” 1 (Peter 5:5b-6), “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
However, before we go too far, I think it would be good for us to define what “pride” really is. Pride can take many forms, correct? It's such a subtle sin, that many times we don’t even recognize it in ourselves. And unless I am mistaken, there is a good pride and a bad pride.
The "good pride" is a desire to do our best, to work hard and to take pride in our work. The "good pride" is the feeling we get when we see our children doing well, we are proud and thankful for them. The "good pride" says, “God made me, God has gifted me, I’m valuable and useful. I can and should feel good about myself, in light of all this.”
On the other side of the coin, pride becomes bad and destructive when it leads us to turn away from God. The wrong kind of pride is simply our refusal to acknowledge God as we should. It's a failure to fully realize that all our abilities, achievements, possessions, and relationships are not due to ourselves, but to the gifts and grace of God. The wrong kind of pride causes us to act arrogantly, to have an inflated view of ourselves, to be conceited, and judgmental.
I have no doubt that we all want to avoid the mistake of pride; and it seems that the key to doing so is to develop humility. But pride can be so subtle that if we aren't careful, we’ll be proud of our humility. The good news is that wants to help us, if we let Him. "How?" you ask.
God will go to great lengths to show us that He is Lord. His purpose in dealing with our pride is always for our good and His glory. God loves us too much to allow our pride to go unchecked. He will sometimes go to great lengths to get our attention, and cause us to acknowledge our dependence on Him. As much as that might hurt at times or as confusing as it might be; God wants us to surrender our pride, let go of the reins, and trust Him to lead our lives.
Using myself as an example, I have to admit that some of my greatest spiritual challenges have been in the areas of pride, ego, and self-centeredness. But, I’m thankful for the help that God, and others, have given to help keep me from being destroyed by the effects of pride. Nevertheless, the temptations to trust in myself, to take credit for my accomplishments, to compare myself with others, and in general, to think of myself more highly than I ought, are ever with me.
Fortunately, there is a cure for pride and its effects. It's called "humility." We must learn to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand (1 Peter. 5:6). Humility recognizes that what I am, and what I can ultimately be, is by the grace of God. Humility is not about humiliation or low self-esteem, it is about a right, God-given esteem. Humility is not denying the power or ability you have, but admitting that that power or ability comes from God.
To keep pride in check and have the right kind of humility, I try to do the following:
1. Be honest about my need for God;
2. Trust in God’s mercy, not my achievements;
3. Instead of comparing myself with others, I want to see myself and others through God’s eyes.
Scripture makes it very clear that God hates pride, and that he opposes the proud. I don’t want to let pride cause God to have to take action to humble me. How about you? I don’t want pride to destroy my relationship with God and with others.
My prayer is that God will help all of us to clothe ourselves with humility toward others and God. I also pray that we will humble ourselves so that God might lift us up and bless us with his grace. And finally, we don’t have to learn this the hard way, we can live God’s way.
Scripture: Proverbs 16:5; Proverbs 11:2; Galatians 6:3; Proverbs 26:12; Jeremiah 9:23; James 4:6; Romans 12:2
Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me understand that love looks not with the eyes, but with the heart; and cherishes every moment. Amen
God bless you!
Abbey
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