The Problem with Pride

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom.

"Pride," said Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitzyn, "grows in the human heart like lard on a pig." Pride is one of the few things that can grow in the human heart without any sustenance. And although it seems to flourish more visibly in some people, all the human race suffers under its malignant grip.

Pride has many different faces. It can try to demand control: "I want it my way"; "I want to be my own god, run my own show and submit to no one."

It can be seen in the stubborn-what the Scriptures call "stiff-necked" or "hard of heart." And it is most easily detected in those who carry themselves in an arrogant manner. When I was a kid we used to call kids like this stuck-up, snooty, snobbish, conceited or cocky.

It was the well-known evangelist Dwight L. Moody who commented on how God deals with pride: "God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves."

Daily I attempt to put "self" to death and ask that Jesus Christ might have unhindered access to every area of my life. Then, as I am tempted to get angry because things didn't go my way, I'm reminded that to give in to pride is death.

So what is the way of humility? To know God, and to know who you are in relation to Him. Philip Brooks once said: "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is."

My pride wants to say, "I don't need God-I'm perfectly happy without Him." But what amazes me is that real happiness comes when I'm willing to humble myself and do what He wills with my life. The process may be painful, but it also brings real joy.

Prayer: That God would show you the joy that comes with humility.

Discuss: In what areas of your life do you feel self-sufficient?