The Sneaky Sin That Packs a Wallop

The Sneaky Sin That Packs a Wallop

Webster’s dictionary defines pride as: 1 :  the quality or state of being proud: as a :  inordinate self-esteem :  conceit b :  a reasonable or justifiable self-respect c :  delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship (parental pride).

Wikipedia defines it as: A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

Now here is what scripture has to say about pride. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6

Or look at Proverbs 16:18-19 – Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to  be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

And again the Psalmist says in Psalms 138:6 – Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.

Many people including Christians will be shocked at the following statement.

“There is no such thing as good pride.”

I’ll repeat that. “There is no such thing as good pride.“

I have heard all the arguments such as: There is nothing wrong in having pride in your job or there is nothing wrong in having pride in the accomplishments of your children and the list goes on and on. In my bible studies, the bible always speaks about pride as something bad. I have found no reference that speaks about any pride as something good.

You see, pride is about self as the definitions above illustrate. That very fact should raise a red flag for us as Christians since being a child of God is about dying to self each day so that Christ can rule in our lives. When we feel proud about what we have accomplished in our jobs, we are really patting ourselves on the back. That glory belongs to God who has accomplished those things through us via the working of the Holy Spirit. Even if we are not following the path laid out for us by the Holy Spirit God is still the one that gave us the knowledge and abilities to accomplish the things we do. In other words you are robbing God of His praise and glory by applying it to yourself.

As we achieve various successes or our children achieve great accomplishments we need to fall on our knees in humility as we give thanks to God for such great blessings. God is the one responsible for it all. When we humble ourselves, we draw closer to Him and experience a closeness that is deep, intimate and loving. We find true joy in the accomplishments of our children and realize that we do not need pride when we have Jesus. He is sufficient.

Some people believe that humility means you are timid and lack no backbone. It does not mean that at all. Humility is the realization that nothing that happens in this world is a result of anything that we have done. God did it and does it all. As we come face to face with this realization, it leaves us with nothing to feel proud about. When we come to this place of humility, we are empty vessels ready for the Holy Spirit to begin His work in and through us. We become strong because we cease to depend on ourselves and start depending on the Lord. The Lord told Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9. True freedom also begins here and with it, the abundant life.

As Christians we need to be on the constant look out for pride. It robs us of our freedom and abundant life. It creeps up on us when we least expect it. It hides itself in seemingly innocent things. It’s one of, if not the most powerful weapons the devil has in his arsenal. He (the devil) tells us “be proud of who you are”, what’s wrong with that? “Take pride in yourself man.” These things sound good and do not seem like much but once we start harboring these thoughts they begin to grow. Little by little we begin taking God’s glory for ourselves. We begin to believe that some of the successes we achieve are because of things we have done.

Before you know it, we are looking at a fallen brother and thinking to ourselves: “How can he do that and call himself a Christian? I would never do something like that” We begin to look for specs in the eyes of others and not see the logs in our own. We get self righteous. We begin to approach others with a legalistic attitude instead of with love and grace. We begin to lose our witness. We are now what the bible calls salt that has lost its flavor and fit only to be trodden under by the feet of men. God resists us. What a sad state?

Unfortunately this is the state that much of the church here in the United States finds itself in today. The public is withdrawing from us, the church. They don’t see us as loving people who are filled with grace. They don’t see unity. They don’t see anything different in us that separate us from any other group of people. They sure don’t see Jesus in us. They see people who condemn them but live hypocritical lives themselves. The pity is they are crying out for real spiritual relationships with God but are not finding it in the church. The church is losing it’s flavor.

Christians, let us get down on our knees. Let us ask the Lord to remove all pride. Let us be on constant guard against this sneaky sin. Let us realize that everything that we are is because of Him and Him alone. Let us bury ourselves in God’s Word. Let us hide His word in our hearts that we might not sin against him. Let us discover His love. Let us learn to love Him all over again. Let us seek Him daily. Let us start our days off in His presence. Let us obey Him. Let us allow Him to excite us. Let us seek ways to reach those who don’t know His love. Let us give Him the glory. Let us give Him praise. Let us see His supernatural works. Let us allow Him to show the world He is alive and lives in us.

Time is short and there are many to reach. The harvest is ripe and we need you to step up.

In His service,

Frank Vernon