I'm a proud person. No, really, you can ask any number of my friends if I am proud. In fact, when there are things in my life that are wrong, they will usually boil down to one of two problems, distrust and pride. Even with this, my lack of trust often comes down to pride. I think can do something, but I don't trust that someone else can take care of it. God has been teaching me a lot about pride and how much of it there is in my life.
We know that the Bible says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace..." Proverbs 11:2, and also "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" 1 Peter 5:5. Finally, and probably the one that comes to my mind the most, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" Proverbs 16:18. So, since it's pretty obvious the plight of those who are proud (disgrace and destruction), let's take a Dr. Hufty approach and take a closer look at pride.
The Propensity to be Proud
Don't you just love when people alliterate, and use big words that no one understands? The propensity of pride, or the tendency to be proud began with the fall of man. Think about it. What was it that caused Adam and Eve to first sin in the garden? Their pride made them want to be like God. They thought that they were pretty good, but they wanted to know the difference between good and evil. They forgot who they really were, the created ones, and proudly believed that they could be like God, the Creator.
Every since that time, we too have the propensity, or tendency to be proud. How often do we try to take the place of God?
"That's ok, God. You don't have to worry about it. I've got it all under control."
That's pride speaking, and pride is all about me, nothing about God.
There's a great cinematic classic for children that tells the story of a friendship between three different animals. I've learned a lot about pride from this movie, in fact I've come to learn about a disease that I call the "Thumper Syndrome." You may remember a scene from this movie on a frozen lake. Bambi has found himself in a snow drift, and Thumper jumps up and yells, "Look what I can do!" He proceeds to fling himself out onto the frozen lake, and boastfully displays his ice sliding skills. The cute little bunny was displaying a wee bit of pride. Well, actually, as he fluffs his puff (or whatever it is that he has) he seems to be displaying a lot of pride. For some reason, this scene stands out in my mind. Whenever I decide to do things on my own, without God, I can just imagine what I would look like to Him. "Hey, God! Look what I can do!"
There are many examples in the Bible of proud people. Take a look at the Rich, young ruler. Seriously, this guy had a lot going for him. I mean, he was rich. With all of that money, he could do a lot. Secondly, he was young. He had not spent a long life trying to obtain his riches, and he was still young enough to enjoy his wealth, in whatever ways he wanted. He thought pretty highly of himself. The young man came to Jesus and said, "What good thing must I do to have eternal life?" Jesus replied, "There is only One who is good. Obey the commandments." You know what word stands out to me in the question of the young man? I What's the little riddle that talks about what's in the middle of "pride"? I The young man said, "What can I do to have eternal life?"
When Jesus responded to him and told him to obey the commandments, the man replied, "I have kept all of those. What do I still lack?" When Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, the rich young man turned away. He was not able to give up himself, his identity, his I.
Yes, as humans, we have the propensity to be proud. It's part of our nature, but as a Christians, we have a new nature. The old is gone, and the new has come. Pride can no longer have a place in my life. The problem with pride is that it is incredibly deceptive. Just when you think you have it conquered, you don't.
However, I do have to end with "But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus!" 1 Corinthians 15:57
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