Pride

PRIDE & HUMILITY

“Pride is your greatest enemy and humility is your greatest friend” – John R.W.Stott (chaplain to Queen Elizabeth)

“…it was through pride that the devil became the devil.” – CS Lewis

Pride is the gateway to every other wicked and evil characteristic / sin
Selfish pride is the complete antithesis of God’s character
Pride is the devil’s most effective and destructive tool to draw us away from God

Pride illustrated in Genesis Chapter 3

Verse 3: God said, “You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die

Verse 4: The serpent contradicts God, “You certainly will not die!” (charging God with lying)

Verse 5: The serpent states the lie, “For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”

The serpent intended to lure Eve into unbelief, which is the opposite of belief that produces Godly faith. Romans 10:17 - Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.
Unbelief sows doubt and when doubt is entertained without hearing and knowing the word of Christ we question the character and truth of God.
The serpent deceived Eve into believing that God wanted to selfishly withhold knowledge and enticed her into desiring a more “godlike” state of mind, arousing her desire, to become like God.
The serpent knew he could entice and cultivate Eve’s desire to “lift up and exalt herself” beyond her rightful and perfectly created place. This is at the heart of pride.
At this point, Eve is weakened and compromised because unbelief has taken hold and now the deception is being embraced: James 1:14,15 - But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.

Verse 6: Eve “saw” that the tree was good for food. Through this fallen state the serpent had led her into she now looked at the food of the forbidden tree in a new light. It was a delight to her eyes and desirable to make her “wise”.

Desire increased, she drew upon her own logic and rationalization which then led to an erosion of strength to resist and reject what was happening.

2 Peter 1:3 - for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Like Eve, when we move away from the knowledge of God, spiritual darkness sets in.
Our mind once set upon God grows smaller and our self gratification becomes larger.
Like Eve, we then exalt ourselves (against God), beyond our place, and exalt ourselves over others. We become arrogant, abusive and full of self.

Pride summarized

Self sufficiency, Self importance, Self exaltation.
An attitude of superiority and lack of interest, concern and empathy for others.
“Pride is a spiritual cancer, it eats up the very possibility of love, contentment, or even common sense” – CS Lewis

Humility

God says over and over again in scripture to humble ourselves and that He will exalt us. He does not want to punish us when we are in pride but to forgive and restore us to humility.

Matthew 20:28 - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

John 13:14,15 - “So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you.

We must put on the mind of Christ:

Invest time dwelling in His presence in prayer, gratitude and praise. Set your mind upon His example and teachings.
Embrace the truth and life expressed in Philippians 4:8-9 and cultivate a deep admiration for His humility.
Walk in a lifestyle of prayer and repentance inviting the Holy Spirit to change our hearts. We cannot due it in our own strength. We are weaker than we think.

Pride contrasted: If pride is an exalted sense of who we are created to be by God and also expressed in our relationship with others, then humility is having a realistic understanding of who we are before God and in relationship with others.

We must not think too highly or too lowly of ourselves but to be honest and realistic.
Romans 12:3 - For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Romans 12:4-8 - For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Philippians 2:3-5 - Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus

Qualities of a True Christian:

Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

Rom 12:10…. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Humility is our greatest friend, it increases our hunger for God’s word, opens our hearts to the Holy Spirit, leads to intimacy with God and imparts the aroma of Christ. Humility grows and unfolds over a lifetime.

Further scriptures:

Isaiah 2:11,12 - The proud look of humanity will be brought low, and the arrogance (elevated status – happiness and exhilaration that loving the world provides) of people will be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exalted on that day. For the LORD of armies will have a day of reckoning against (above and over) everyone who is arrogant and haughty, and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be brought low.

Jeremiah 9:23,24 - This is what the LORD says: “Let no wise (intelligent, skillful, artful) man boast of his wisdom, nor let the mighty (powerful, champion) man boast of his might, nor a rich man boast of his riches; but let the one who boasts boast (shine or rejoice) of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

Philippians 2:3 - Do nothing from selfishness (contention or strife) or empty conceit (vain/empty “self” glorying), but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;

Proverbs 8:13 - “The fear of the LORD is to hate (find it extremely unpleasant, foul, repulsive) evil; Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate.

*Perverted: Turning away from what is right and speaking the opposite. What is right?