Articles
The Dangers of Pride
The scriptures often single out certain characteristics a Christian or follower of God must have. At other times we may observe passages encouraging us to lay aside sin and characteristics associated with the devil and the world. One such property is pride. Would you be surprised if I told you that pride is one of the most commonly committed sins among those in the world and those in the church? Pride can simply be defined as the pleasure experienced when we achieve something. Now, that in itself isn’t wrong. There is nothing wrong with having a little pride. In fact, that is a healthy thing to have. The problem is when we develop an excessively high opinion of ourselves and one that is very low of others.
Often times when we think of an arrogant person, we may point to someone who seeks all attention for themselves. They thrive in the lime light seeking to soak up all the compliments and attention they can possibly get. At the same time, we may observe that these types of people have no regard for their fellow man especially those that are in need. The scriptures tell us that the Lord hates a proud look (cf. Prov. 6:16). It can be all too easy to fall into Satan’s trap of self-inflation. The devil drives a hard bargain and he wants us to be first in our lives and not God. He wants us to seek out only our own interests. Paul warned against such an attitude when He wrote to the Philippians (Phil. 2:3ff). Pride wants us to neglect our fellow man. Such actions are contrary to God’s will and that of a Christian’s life.
Pride taken too far can blind us from seeing the truth. In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man born blind from birth. He does not know who Jesus is at that point but comes to know who He is later. The Pharisees on the other hand, refuse to believe Jesus is from God. While they can see physically, their arrogance has blinded them from seeing Jesus for who He really is. Pride can also deceive us into thinking we can stand on our own when we really and truly can’t. We need God. Pride wants us to believe we can do everything on our own without help from God.
The scriptures also teach that pride goes before destruction (cf. Prov. 16:18). Think of a tall tree that is cut down with the axe. You can imagine its fall won’t be very soft and easy. If we are not careful and we let pride get the better of us, God will cut us down and our fall will be so great we may not be able to recover from it. Instead let humility and a spirit of meekness and gentleness dwell within us. May we look out for our neighbor and put God first in our lives. May we be poor in spirit and say no to the temptations of Satan.
