Proverbs 11:2
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.”
What is pride? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? And can pride really hurt us? Today’s culture likes to paint “pride” in only a positive tone, and you can see this by looking at the first two definitions of the word found in Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary: “reasonable self-esteem : confidence and satisfaction in oneself” and “pleasure that comes from some relationship, association, achievement, or possession that is seen as a source of honor, respect, etc.” Most people don’t think about the third definition that Merriam-Webster’s gives: “exaggerated self-esteem : conceit.” I’m not arguing that all feelings of pride are negative (like being proud of your kids’ grades in school or of a successful project you completed at work, etc.). I do think, however, that because of what the Bible says regarding pride, we must be on guard against falling into sinful pride. God’s Word repeatedly addresses this side of pride—when it has become a heart issue that pours over into how we view God, the world, and others. For the Christian, heart issues are areas where we are loving something or someone more than God. They are desires that lead us to sin rather than to please God.
When pride is sinful, it hurts us and others just like any other sin. Our opening verse of Proverbs 11:2 gives just one example of the hurt that follows pride—disgrace. Today as we think about pride the way God defines it, I hope to point out more of the ways this sin hurts us and others, as well as give encouragement for how to identify and root out this sin.
As we just mentioned, one hurt that comes from pride is disgrace. When we focus on our abilities and accomplishments, it affects our relationship with others. Often sinful pride causes us to doubt our need to trust others or to seek help. Then when our pride falls apart, when we aren’t enough, it leads to feelings of disgrace when we must ask for help beyond ourselves. Continuing with the book of Proverbs, we see that pride does not lead to lasting joy, confidence, satisfaction, or pleasure, like the world would like to convince us of:
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.Proverbs 29:23
Pride brings a person low,
but the lowly in spirit gain honor.
When our reasonable self-esteem, confidence, or satisfaction becomes exaggerated, we think we can trust ourselves, our ways, and our reasoning more than anyone else’s—including God’s. When we think we know what is best for ourselves, it is pride rearing its ugly head. Our arrogance and achievements will not last because something or someone better than us will always arise. Pride hurts us and our relationships because we get too focused on our needs and wants rather than on those of others.
The Bible clearly states that the end of pride will be destruction. Rather than really building ourselves up, all pride will eventually result in our being brought low. In fact, the Bible promises that if we do not choose to humble our prideful selves, God will:
Isaiah 2:11
The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.Matthew 23:11-12
The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Pride always feels good in the moment because it is self-confidence, but its end is disgrace and humiliation. This truth doesn’t have to be depressing or discouraging, though, because we are given the ability to choose to humble ourselves.
Luke 14:7-11
When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
We can either choose to give up our proud ways and follow Jesus’ commands to humble ourselves, or God will humble us in His time. Being humiliated in this life is one temporary harm that comes from this sin, but the ultimate hurt that pride causes is the damage it does to our relationship with God!
Both the apostles James and Peter call believers to submit to God and walk in humility:
James 4:6
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”1 Peter 5:5
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
We can either choose to accept His grace and willingly be humbled, or we can be opposed by the God of the universe. So how do we humble ourselves?
Proverbs 8:13
To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.
We have to practice hating the things that God hates. We must be in His Word to see what He deems as evil, and then we must choose to avoid it. We need to make decisions in life not just based on what’s best for ourselves or how we can be noticed for our talents or achievements. We must value others as more important than ourselves, just like our Savior and Lord did when He humbled Himself to die on the cross for our sins. The rest of Philippians 2 goes on to describe the way that Christ humbled Himself. He is the ultimate example of resisting pride and choosing to be humbled instead. When we look to God’s Word to see who Jesus is and how we are called to live like Him, we can ask God to help us put away our pride.
To end, I want to leave you with a few questions to evaluate whether there are areas of sinful pride in your life that you might need to address:
How often do you seek advice from God’s Word and other believers before making a decision?
Do you get upset when you have to do something differently than how you would prefer to do it?
Do you place your identity or value in what you do or what you’ve done?
Do you clearly see ways that you need to grow in your spiritual life and in your relationship with others?
These are questions that help me see when pride has become a heart issue in my life. The answers reveal if I’ve got my gaze set on my Savior or on myself. The sin of pride has been around since sin entered the world, and it is common to us all. But praise God that when we choose to humble ourselves and ask for God’s helping grace, we don’t have to stay stuck in our pride. What a relief that is for my stubborn, prideful self!
I’ve been encouraged and challenged again and again in this series by how much the Bible has to say about sin and our freedom from it because of what Jesus did for us. I’m not done with this series yet, so I hope you’ll join me again over the next several weeks to continue evaluating how we are able to overcome sin and the pain it causes in Christ. Thanks as always for listening or reading to Speaking Truth!
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