PRIDE: THE GOOD, BAD, AND THE HORRIFIC

The Bible consistently condemns pride:

·       The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 16:5 (NIV)

Why such a harsh denunciation? Isn’t it good to feel proud of ourselves after we have fixed our car or even cleaned out our apartment? If pride is just a feeling of accomplishment, there is nothing the matter with it. However, pride usually grows into something more – narcissism and the belief in our superiority. Therefore, Scripture reminds us that everything good, including our skills, health, and mind, comes from God:

·       …learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Corinthians 4:6-7)

Even our life, our wholesome desires, abilities, and our strength come from God (James 1:17), who deserves our thanks. Instead, pride cuts the Creator out and takes full credit. Pride is also fertile soil for many forms of evil:

·       In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble." His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. (Psalm 10:1-9)

Pride opposes humility. Here is a list of how pride is associated with evil, in order of their appearance in Psalm 10: Arrogance, wickedness, boasting, blessing the guilty, reviling the Lord, haughtiness, sneering, self-confidence, evil, curses, lies, and threats, and murders the innocent. Pride is the exaltation of self above God.

Why should pride be associated with these evils? Pride represents a rejection of the truth, either about oneself or about God. To accomplish this, the proud tells himself of his greatness, hardens his conscience, and rationalizes all of his moral failures. He places himself above others and boasts of his freedom from any moral restraints and from God. In his arrogance, he has convinced himself that he is above all of this. Scripture explains what happens from God’s perspective:

·       For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. (Romans 1:21-25)

Why should our thinking become “futile?” When someone refuses to hear anything we say, we finally quit talking and allow them to go their own way. This is also true of God. When we stop listening, He stops talking. He is both Creator and Sustainer. When He stops sustaining us and allows us to go our own way, we become increasingly corrupted in both mind and in our heart’s desires. We become like a cut rose. We might bloom apart from the roots, but then we die. We reap what we sow, and what the proud sows is self-destruction:

·       If you had responded to my rebuke, I [God] would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke…Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." (Proverbs 1:23-25, 28-33)

How do the proud destroy themselves? What form does their self-destruction take? God needs not punish the proud. They willingly punish themselves by their choices. Scripture contrasts the “wisdom” of pride from the wisdom of its opposite – humility:

·       But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:14-18 (NIV)

The proud are self-aggrandizing. There is nothing more important to them than self-promotion. Instead of concern for others, the proud are willing to step on them so that they can ascend. Therefore, their form of “wisdom” produces “disorder and every evil practice.”

How does this play out? The proud use relationships to serve their “selfish ambition.” It’s all about them, and their narcissism becomes unbearable to those close to them. Besides, they think that they are superior to others and look down on them. Therefore, whenever there is a conflict, they are convinced that they are always right. Why? In magnifying themselves, they have suppressed any awareness of their faults and failures, which might interfere with self-glorification. Consequently, no conflicts can ever be resolved with those who refuse to examine themselves honestly. While they may impress others with their successes, boasts, and self-confidence, their blindness leads to self-destruction.

Therefore, we should be grateful that we are being humbled so that we would become open to God’s Light of Truth (John 3:19-20) and become “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” This is the wisdom that comes from Above, as Jesus often taught:

·       For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14)

Had I not been humbled (and am being humbled), I have no doubt that I would have led the way among the arrogant. Therefore, let us rejoice in our humbling circumnstances.