Pride is an excessively high opinion of self. Other words for pride are: self-regard, self-exaltation, conceit,
snobbery, haughtiness, pretentiousness.
Pride is an infections and dangerous emotion. It can be our worst enemy. It can lead us into sinful behavior. It can lead to destruction in our
relationships with others and in our relationship with God. Pride can make us value being right more than
having a Christ-like attitude.
Pride is holding our noses high in the air when it should be
our hands lifted high in praise to the Lord.
Pride is a Sin
“21 For from within, out of a
person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22
adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and
foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile
you.” (Mark 7:21-23 NLT)
“Pride goes before destruction, and
haughtiness before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 NLT)
“Love is patient and kind. Love is
not jealous or boastful or proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT)
Pride is a sin. Pride
‘defiles a person’. Pride makes you
impure. Being proud is not an attribute
of love. We must handle the sin of pride
consciously. Pride can infect many of the
decisions you make in life.
The First Sin
Pride is often seen as the first sin. Pride is the sin which caused Satan to fall
from his privileged position as an angel.
Satan then used the same sin to tempt Adam and Eve away from God. Satan tempts us today with the sin of pride.
Pride Relies on
Competition
Pride cannot exist without competition. It is always about you or me against another.
GOD DETESTS PRIDE
“All who fear the Lord will hate
evil. Therefore, I hate pride and
arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.” (Proverbs 8:13 NLT)
“The Lord detests the proud; they
will surely be punished.” (Proverbs 16:5 NLT)
Why does God detest pride?
He detests it because it comes from inside the heart. A proud person thinks of themselves as higher
than others.
“He sat down, called the twelve
disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last
place and be the servant of everyone else.” (Mark 9:35 NLT)
Christians are called to be servants to one another. If our lifestyle prevents us from serving,
then repentance to God must be made. Sometimes
we have to sacrifice some things in order to fight the temptation of pride.
DANGERS AND CONSEQUENCES OF PRIDE
Non-Admission of Sin
– Sometimes, due to our pride, it is hard to admit when we have sinned. We must become humble in order to admit when
we have sinned and done wrong.
“10 For the kind of sorrow God
wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s
no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance,
results in spiritual death. 11 Just see
what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear
yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal,
and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything
necessary to make things right.” (2 Corinthians 7:10-11 NLT)
Worldly Things –
Pride keeps us believing in worldly things – money, status, career, money,
etc. Pride causes us to reject Christ in
our lives, replacing Him with things of this world. Pride becomes an obstacle in our faith in
Jesus Christ.
“7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 9 But people who long to be rich
fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of
all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true
faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:7-10 NLT)
Self-Righteousness
– Being self-righteous is a feeling or display of superiority. It’s also known as a 'holier-than-thou' attitude. Being self-righteous is a
sin. It causes us to become bitter
toward others. It can keep us from
wanting to follow Christ properly in our lives.
Don’t let pride in your accomplishments and abilities cut you off from
God. Your accomplishments and talents
are given to you because of God.
“11 The Pharisee stood by himself
and prayed this prayer[a]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like
everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m
certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a
tenth of my income.’ 13 “But the tax
collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he
prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to
me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned
home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and
those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:11-14 NLT)
Causes Arguments –
Pride causes arguments. It causes us to
have to always be right. It is a sense
that “no one can come and tell me what to do, how to live, or how to behave.” The next time you are in a disagreement, stop
your pride short. Admit you are wrong if
you are wrong. Admit you need advice or
help when you need it. Pride can keep us
from asking for help or advice when we need it.
The next time you are in need of help, advice, or just need a second
opinion on a matter, don’t let pride stand in the way of your asking for
help. There is no shame in asking for
assistance when you need it.
“Pride leads to conflict; those who
take advice are wise.” (Proverbs 13:10 NLT)
Fault-Blinding –
Pride blinds us from our faults.
Sometimes we would rather push blame off onto others rather than wanting
to see our own faults and admit the ugly truths about ourselves. We all have faults and weaknesses. We can’t maintain good relationships with
others if we believe we are better than others or think that we are never
wrong. We shouldn't point out the faults
and weaknesses of others, gossip, talk behind other’s backs or judge others.
“Do not judge others, and you will
not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1 NLT)
Chokes Communication
– When pride sneaks into our perspective of a situation, tension builds and
communication becomes difficult. We can
become so determined and focused on being right that we are willing to
sacrifice relationships with people we care about. Don’t let your pride destroy your
relationships.
Halts Forgiveness and Restoration
– Pride can keep us from forgiveness. Pride
can keep us from apologizing when we are in the wrong. God calls us to be humble and make allowances
for the faults of others. He calls us to
forgive.
“Make allowance for each other’s
faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so
you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13 NLT)
Offended and
Defensive – Mankind is so easily offended.
We easily become defensive.
Sometimes we are willing to fight at all costs to have the last word.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT OUR PRIDE?
Defeating pride is an ongoing task. We have to wake up each and every day
determined to beat our prideful nature.
We have to work on this daily.
Remember You Are a
Sinner – We must remember who we are.
We must have the proper opinion of ourselves. We are all sinners. We all fail.
We all need forgiveness from God.
When we have the correct perspective of ourselves, it is difficult for
pride to sneak into our lives.
“Oh, what a miserable person I am!
Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans
7:24 NLT)
Remember Christ’s
Sacrifice – Our perspectives change when we remember the incredible
sacrifice Christ made for us. He died on
the cross to save us from our sins.
Where would we be today if He hadn’t ransomed and liberated us?
“4 But God is so rich in mercy, and
he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he
gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace
that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ
and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ
Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the
incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has
done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you
believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can
boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:4-9 NLT)
Have the Attitude of
Christ
“1 Is there any encouragement from
belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the
Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by
agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working
together with one mind and purpose. 3
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as
better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take
an interest in others, too. 5 You must
have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something
to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his
divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a
human being. When he appeared in human
form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a
cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to
the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1-11 NLT)
Jesus Christ was not proud.
He was without sin and therefore the most humble man that ever lived –
he obeyed God, he was exalted for it and we can be rewarded for our obedience because
of his great example.
When we are full of pride, we deny ourselves greatness
because we are refusing to have a Christ-like attitude. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us.
Give Thanks! – Pride
cannot grow in a truly thankful heart.
Offer up many prayers of praise and thanks to God for all He has done
for you. Do this on a daily basis. He has blessed us all beyond measure, even
when we are undeserving of His blessings.
“6 And now, just as you accepted
Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots
grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will
grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with
thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7 NLT)
Pride is a universal human problem. Everyone suffers from it to some degree. When we have exalted ourselves in pride, God
does not want to punish us and bring us low but rather forgive and restore
us. He says over and over in Scripture,
humble yourselves and I will exalt you.
“God blesses those who are humble, for
they will inherit the whole earth.” (Matthew 5:5 NLT)
Humility is our greatest friend. It increases our hunger for God’s Word. It opens our hearts to His Spirit. It leads to intimacy with God.
We should surrender our lives to Christ daily and choose to
be victorious over pride through Him who strengthens us!
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