As
I have been pondering this time of the pandemic that we are living in, lately I’ve
been thinking a lot about pride. It seems to me that pretty much everything
that had to do with pride has been nearly done away with. This could include
travel, sports achievements, celebrations of every kind, educational
achievements (grads), showers for and visits to newborns, weddings, funerals,
and even the celebration of our province’s 150th birthday. All the events have
been cancelled, probably for the first time in our history. Can you think of
any more? It is a sad situation indeed. Almost all that we’ve enjoyed and taken
for granted is stripped away. And we are in a place where gratitude, humility
and thankfulness for the smallest things, should keep our hearts happy and
pure, instead of overly fat, rich, unthankful, and in a state of complaining.
In
many ways, we have been so busy, I believe it is obvious we have left God out
of so many areas in our lives. I keep suspecting that this pandemic all has to
do with our pride, and taking so much of God’s gifts for granted.
What
exactly do we know about pride? It is at the top of seven things that God
hates:
Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea,
seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that
shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet
that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and
he that soweth discord among brethren.
We
know that pride, when lifted up in defiance against God, results in being
abased or humbled by God:
Mat 23:11 But he that is greatest
among you shall be your servant.
Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall
exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be
exalted.
Have
you ever experienced this? Perhaps you thought you deserved a promotion, and
someone else got the job that seemed much less qualified than you? This can be
a very humbling experience.
Self-serving
pride at the expense of another, will never end well. Competition for any
position in life, whether it be a job, sports, singing, or anything else, must
be done in a way that glorifies God and not glorifies self. God’s ways are so
opposite the world: He calls for humility instead of pride that hurts ourself
and others.
God
resists the proud:
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye
double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and
he shall lift you up.
The
greatest example of pride had to do with Satan.
Satan’s pride cost him God and heaven and all the eternal blessings that
come with that. In addition, he was cast
down to the earth, and hell was created for him and his fallen angels. Satan will be utterly and completely destroyed,
and so will all of his earthly followers, and all those who reject Jesus Christ
as the Son of God.
Hell
and total destruction are the most severe punishment for the original sin of
pride which Satan committed against God. He was merely an angel created by God
to attend to and worship God, and he foolishly thought he could compete with
God and get some kind of glory of his own. It is with this same pride that he
declared an all-out war for the souls of man, souls whom God loves and later
died for. Eve was the first victim to fall for Satan’s lies (mixed with half
truth). And through her, we were all born into sin from this same prideful
mistake she and Adam made. She defied God and went ahead and did her own thing. (This act alone is a topic that deserves much
more discussion than is possible here.)
Satan
is known for his five “I will’s” which he proclaimed against God in an outright
rebellion.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides
of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be
brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall
narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the
man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17 That made the
world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not
the house of his prisoners?
The
most dangerous pride is to know of the truth and to deny it, or be given every
opportunity to turn to God once you (generic term here) realize your lost
state, and yet reject God. Turning your back on God will mean that you are lost
forever without Him, with no hope of entering into God’s heaven, unless you turn
to Him before you die. It is the only
unforgiveable sin that exists.
Is
there such a thing as healthy pride? I
couldn’t find it in Scripture. I believe
we are to receive our self-esteem and feeling of worthiness from God
Himself. The fact that He valued us more
than His own life and loved us when we were yet sinners, should be enough for
us to hold our head up high! Plus, He
will never leave us or forsake us. He
considers us His beloved children, that means we are royalty because He is the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Being
so loved by God, and loving others, as well as being loved by others, is enough
to fulfill all our needs of feeling valued.
And yet, we will more than likely still struggle with pride.
Here
is what Paul said:
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are
not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
There
is more:
Php 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Php 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others.
Php 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is
yours in Christ Jesus,
Php 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Php 2:7 but emptied himself, by taking the form
of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Php 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Php 2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ESV
If
Jesus humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross, who are we to think
so highly of ourselves that we give ourselves a pat on the back for any good
deeds we may do? God will reward us in much higher and better ways if we stop
bragging about ourself, our accomplishments, or our many nice things.
There
is so much more to this important topic that I’m ending it here, and will post
the rest of it in another blog. Stay tuned for Part 2.
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