Pride continues to separate marriages, family, loved ones, groups of people, and even nations. As God’s people, it is incumbent upon us to show a different brand of humanity. Jesus set the highest standard of humility, and He called us to learn from Him. We can have many successes, but if we don’t have humility, it will look like a well-dressed person who smells bad!! We are called to have the aroma of Christ not just look good!!
There are different Hebrew & Greek words for “pride” in the Bible. So here is a summary of some of those definitions.
Definition of Pride: Inordinate self-esteem; the character of one who, with a swollen estimate of his own powers or merits, looks down on others and even treats them with insolence and contempt; to raise a smoke; to wrap in a mist; to blind with pride or conceit; to render foolish or stupid, empty, braggart talk.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:7
Pride was at the root of devil’s fall. (Isaiah 14:13-15) He was choosing to exercise His will apart from the God’s will.
When we become proud, we come into agreement with the devil and his will. On the other hand, Jesus declared himself gentle and humble and he told us that we need to learn gentleness and humility from Him.(Matthew 11:28-29) That’s why the scripture tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. The devil stands on one side with his pride, arrogance, and self will. Jesus is on the other side with gentleness, meekness & humility. When we respond to a situation with pride, God will oppose us because pride is against the character of God. However, when we respond with humility, God gives us grace. Jesus was humble and that’s what brings delight to the Lord when we identify with Jesus.
What are some things that open the door to pride?
1. Feeling threatened. When people are fearful, their flesh wants to go into self-preservation mode. They do whatever they can to fight the so-called enemy. People stop trusting God. They jump into the driver’s seat of their life in an attempt to impact the situation in a certain direction. They start leaning on their own understanding and what is seen with the natural eyes rather than waiting for the Lord’s instruction or strategy.
2. Being offended. The sense of being wronged and unjustly treated takes people to the place of defending themselves and their rights. The problem with defending yourself is that while you may have valid points, it puts a smokescreen to your own issues and some of the things you need to address in your life and your attitude.
3. Being insecure about who we are and what we do. If people are not firmly grounded in who God says they are, when difficult or dry seasons come, it will cause them to become proud, brag about themselves or compete with others to feel better about their insecurities. You must remember there are seasons to everything under heaven, and ask the Lord to show you the season you are in. Your best friend may be in a different season than you are. You must also ask yourself, “Have I stayed in this season for too long because I haven’t been listening to the Lord’s instruction in this season?” Bragging about oneself or competing with others is never the answer. That’s not who God is and that’s not how the lord wants his children to operate.
4. Lack of revelation of who we really are apart from Christ. Regardless of our maturity or accomplishments in His kingdom, we must remember we are nothing apart from Him. Jesus is our righteousness, truth, and life. The devil can trap people by self-condemnation on one hand, and self-exaltation on the other hand, and it can all happen in one day!!! Believers have to be very careful in bringing their thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ by making sure their thoughts are lined up with the Bible. If not, they could live a schizophrenic life. The life of stability comes from aligning our lives with the word of God and allowing His will to direct us and correct us in the journey of life.
We will continue with the subject of pride in the next devotional. In the meantime, when situations arise that makes you want to defend yourself. Stop! Ask the Lord to show you your part in the situation before pointing out the shortcomings of the other person.