David Weaks

According to John, the "pride of life" is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 Jn. 2:16).  As the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes must be rejected as sin, so must a disciple reject pride.

The Bible does not condemn the kind of pride a man feels for his children or his country.  Sinful pride refers to arrogance and haughtiness.  A prideful man wants to call attention to himself, because he sees himself as more important than everyone else.  His standing in men's eyes matters more than the men who praise him.  Likewise, when pride afflicts a Christian, his control of the church means more to him than the church itself.

Pride is at the heart of lust.  A proud man looks lasciviously at a woman because he believes he has the right to do so.  As David looked with lust at Bathsheba, a proud man believes he is owed the fulfillment of his carnal desires.  A proud man covets all that his neighbor has, because he feels he is more deserving (Col. 3:5).

Solomon had a lot to say about the sin of pride.  He said, "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" (Prov. 16:18-19).  In another place, Solomon said, "When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom" (Prov. 11:2).  He also said,"...he who exalts his gate seeks destruction" (Prov. 17:19).   Finally, Solomon said, "Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility" (Prov. 18:12).  Humility, not pride, comes before honor (Prov. 15:33).

Jesus condemned pride in the Sermon on the Mount.  He said that the blesses man is the humble one: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:3).  This was the opposite of what the Jews saw from their religious leaders.  The scribes and Pharisees were men filled with pride and self-importance.  Jesus said a disciple must be humble.  He must also be meek (vs. 5), and he must mourn for his sins (vs. 4).  Only the merciful man will obtain mercy (vs. 7).  Only the pure in heart will see God (vs. 8).  The peacemakers are those who are the sons of God (vs. 9).  Each of the Beatitudes tell us to put God and others ahead of ourselves, which is the essence of humility and the opposite of pride (see: Mark 12:30-31).  These traits are far nobler than anything that a proud man displays.

Jesus, Our Example

Paul described Jesus as our perfect example of humility.  Paul prayed for the Philippians' unity (Phil. 2:2).  Unity could only exist between saints who rejected selfish ambition and conceit (vs. 3).  Paul said,  "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (vs. 5- 8).  Jesus left heaven for us, but He would return there after His resurrection from the dead (Jn. 17:1-5).

Jesus took the "form of a servant," and faced the brutal death of the cross for man's sins (Phil. 2:5-10; Lk. 22:42-44).  There was not an ounce of pride in the Lord's actions.  It was perfect humility on display.  Let us be more like Him!

Troubles Caused By Pride

Pride blinds men to the truth.  The Bible says that the truth sets a man free from sins (Jn. 8:32), but pride causes a sinner to look to himself and his own wisdom for the path of righteousness.  This one pathway to redemption is a common theme in the Bible.  Jeremiah said "it is not in many to walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23).  Solomon asked, "How can a man understand his own way?" (Prov. 20:24).  The proud man thinks that he has his whole life planned, wrapped up, and executed to perfection.  Only the humble man will look at his life introspectively.

Pride rejects censure.  Christians, like all men, need to make occasional course corrections.  A diligent student of the Bible will see for himself where his life is in need of repair and will make the necessary changes.  However, there are times when a man needs reproof, rebuke, and exhortation (2 Tim. 4:2).  The proud man generally thinks his life is more than adequate, and the thought that anyone would point out any error is an insult to him.  He can see plenty of "motes" in the eyes of his brethren, but he is blind to the "beam" in his own eye (Mt. 7:3-5).

Pride demands control.  John wrote about a man named Diotrephes who was self-willed and full of pride.  He loved to have the preeminence among the saints (3 Jn. 9).  He refused to receive the apostles, who were inspired of God, and who could rebuke him.  His deeds were contrary to the peaceful interaction of the saints.  His character and his attitude put him at odds with the truth. Diotrephes prated against the apostles with malicious words, and he threatened the members of the congregation with expulsion if they received the apostles (vs. 10).  Diotrephes' conduct was "evil" (vs. 11).  He was fueled by pride, not by a desire to preach the truth and save souls.  He was only interested in the power that came from being the "chief."  His way was the only way that mattered to him.

Pride divides churches.  Paul said that the church needs to be united.  Saints must speak the same things, and there should be no divisions among them (1 Cor. 1:10).  How to have unity among the saints is very clear.  Each Christian must be devoted to the truth and be "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (vs. 10b), but actually being united is hard.  Pride poisons local churches where it exists, and prevents unity.  The saints may know a proud, divisive man is wrong, but they fear him, and they lack the courage to oppose him.  Some Christians, being poorly educated in truth, are not sure what is right and wrong, so the prideful man dominates them.  In either case, what suffers is the unity of saints.

Pride condemns people to hell.  The sad reality of men like Diotrephes is that look with contempt at good men like Gaius, who want nothing more than to serve God faithfully.  The sad reality is that after they die, prideful men will find themselves looking across the "great gulf" at men like Gaius, will be resting in Abraham's bosom (Lk. 16:26).  This will be the price of their pride.

Conclusion

Among the various devices or "wiles" of the devil, none is more destructive than pride.  Pride is a quality that experience tells us is bad, because we see the harm it does in their lives.  However, pride is so deceptive that we don't see it when it is part of our own character.  Proud men insist they have no problem with it.  Only others are proud and full of themselves.  Pride masks itself in the addled mind as "strength" and "character." Pride is not strength, pride is not wholesome, and pride is not holy.  It is a sin which consumes righteousness, and it is a form of myopia so profound that it prevents many a proud man from ever seeing the reality of his lost condition.

Pride, in the devil's arsenal, is the equivalent of napalm. It is a scorched earth weapon of mass spiritual destruction.