One of the most difficult problems to deal with is pride. It’s difficult to understand how to strike the balance between being proud of something that we’ve accomplished, proud of our own hard work, and allowing pride to become the most powerful force in our lives. There’s nothing wrong with feeling a sense of accomplishment, but God doesn’t want us to develop an ego. It’s important to recognize and avoid the perils of pride, as it’s not a Godly trait.
Every great work of literature has themes that run from the beginning of the book to the end. The Bible is no different. There are several themes that can be traced from Genesis to Revelation. Why is that? After all, the Bible is made up of 66 books that were written by dozens of different authors in multiple countries, three languages, and over the course of thousands of years. How is it possible that there are themes that run from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation? It’s because the Bible is inspired by the God, and He wants us to understand some key points.
One of the most powerful themes that can be found in Scripture is the fact that we as humans are largely our own worst enemies. Yes, we have an enemy, Satan. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). He is like a roaring lion, looking for someone he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). However, in addition to Satan and his attacks, we are often our own worst enemy. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, the source of our own self-inflicted wounds is pride.
This isn’t the kind of pride that’s healthy, which is found when we feel a sense of accomplishment for a job well done. There is nothing sinful about being proud of something that you’ve accomplished. When you walk across the stage at graduation, you should be proud of that! When you receive a job that you’ve wanted for years, you should be proud of that! There’s nothing wrong with feeling the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done.
Instead, the kind of pride that puts us in danger is found when we start to esteem ourselves too highly. In reality, we’re all born with a sinful condition that can only be remedied by God’s grace. If you don’t believe that’s true, think about the first time that you tried to lie to get out of trouble. No one had to teach you how to lie, you simply did it. Perhaps you were throwing a ball in the house when you knew you weren’t supposed to and broke a lamp. When you parents asked what happened, you probably lied. You lied because sinful responses are natural.
The Bible is filled with multiple stories of people who struggled with pride. Unfortunately, we’re not all that different from those people. If we allow it to go unchecked, our pride can cause us a variety of problems. Fortunately, we can avoid pride and the perils that it produces if we try.
The First Will Be Last
Proverbs 18:12 (TPT)
A man’s heart is the proudest when his downfall is nearest, for he won’t see glory until the Lord sees humility.
Have you ever seen the movie, “Thor?” It’s a movie that tells the story of a prince who reigned in the land of Asgard. He gets stripped of his powers, cast down from Asgard, and is relegated to roam the earth because his dad, King Odin, believed that he was arrogant, and therefore, unfit to the be the king. King Odin’s accusations weren’t exactly unfounded. Before his termination as prince, Thor had allowed his pride to cause him to start a war. The trip to earth was designed to teach Thor the humility that he would need in order to effectively rule the people.
This concept isn’t exactly new. While it’s easy to sit back, watch a Marvel movie, and believe that the concepts are new, this one isn’t. Jesus spoke on the same kind of thing that King Odin did thousands of years before anyone sat down and created the Thor character.
Matthew 20:16 (TPT)
“Now you can understand what I meant when I said that the first will end up being last and the last will end up being first. Everyone is invited, but few are the chosen.”
“The first will end up being last, and the last will end up being first.” In the movie that we discussed, Thor was so determined to be first that he wound up being last. That’s not a cinematic concept, it’s a Biblical concept!
Jesus declared that anyone who is motivated by their pride, any one who tries to force their way to the front of the line, will end up being last. Remember that when you’re allowing your pride to be the driving force in your life. It doesn’t get you to the head of the class. Instead, it gets you bumped to the back.
Finding Satisfaction
1 John 2:15-16 (TPT)
Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of this world. The love of the Father and hte love of that world are incompatible. For all that the world can offer us-the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of hte world, and the obsession with status and importance-none of these things come from the Father but from the world.
There is a relationship between pride and satisfaction. When we allow ourselves to be motivated by the status and importance that we can receive from the world, we are essentially allowing ourselves to be controlled by pride.
In most cases, you cannot please society and God. Instead, we have to choose whose applause we’re seeking. God applauds us when we live humble lives that are in accordance with His will. Conversely, the world, culture, and society applaud us when we do things their way. Society applauds when you step on people on your quest to the top. The world around you teaches you that you need to “look out for number one” at all costs. Our culture teaches us that we can achieve status only through being pushed by our own pride.
When you put pride in its proper place, you can find your satisfaction in the things that truly matter. Those are the things that God has for us.
Childlike Humility
Matthew 18:4 (TPT)
Whoever continually humbles himself to become like this gentle child is the greatest one in heaven’s kingdom realm.
Have you ever told a child that he or she did a good job on something? Maybe they colored a picture from a coloring book and gave it to you. Sure, there are probably some areas that are outside the lines, and some of the color choices probably don’t make sense, but when you tell your child how good they did on something, they light up with such joy! That’s because children are naturally humble.
Jesus pulled a child onto His lap to teach a lesson on humility. The adults who were standing around were doing what adults do: they were fighting for the top spot. They wanted to be the most important. That’s why Jesus told them to act more like the child that He used to illustrate His point.
Allow yourself to become humble. Doing so means that you can find your true source of encouragement in God.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to eliminate pride from my life. I know that You don’t want me to downplay my accomplishments, but instead, You want me to thank You for the abilities that I have to reach them. Help me to remember that You are my true Source of everything that I need. I will not be led by pride, I will be led by the Holy Spirit. In Christ’s name, Amen.