In Romans 1:28-32, the Apostle Paul included
“proud” and “boasters” among the list of sins that the rejection of God brings
about. Consider also that Solomon
included this concept in Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that
shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in
running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord
among brethren.” Jesus included it among
a list of rather despicable transgressions when He stated that what “comes out
of a man, that defiles a man. For from
within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an
evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark
7:20-23). While being prideful might be
overlooked often as being a “lesser” sin (compared, for example, to murder),
Jesus said “All these evil things”, which means that Christians should take
note of it.
While pride is an issue that may frequently be
mentioned in passing, how often do we sit and consider this concept specifically?
However, being prideful and even boastful is an issue that is all too prevalent
in our society today. For men (perhaps
pride is more of an issue with men, generally speaking, but Christian ladies
should be wary of it as well), pride can come about through a number of
different factors; for instance, men might be proud of their academic
achievements, their professional achievements, their material wealth, their fame
(even perceived fame), and the list goes on.
One problem that often develops due to pride is that an outlook on life
is cultivated in which an individual believes themselves to always be correct
and no amount of evidence to the contrary will convince them otherwise. For instance, someone with this outlook might
put forth the argument that since they are “well educated,” everyone should
listen to them on the topic rather than someone who is not so “educated”. Naturally, such an attitude will not be stated
in such obvious terms, but the attitude is present nonetheless; last year, I
read an article in which the author was clearly trying to exert their
intellectual abilities and he disparaged anyone who potentially disagreed with
his stance as being less educated and of lesser intelligence (he even went so
far as to mention his academic degrees and where he obtained them). Such is prideful and inappropriate on many
levels.
In Proverbs 16:18, King Solomon wrote that pride
“goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Likewise, in Proverbs 11:2, he wrote that
when “pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.” Again, he wrote that a “man’s pride will
bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23). From just these few passages, it is easy to
ascertain that pride will only bring shame upon the prideful. Pride can often lead to other sins; think
back to Proverbs 6:16-19. How often does
pride lead to these other abominations? For instance, mankind has become so prideful
in their so-called evolved state of being that they determine that unborn
babies are not human and therefore, in their pride, they extinguish those
innocent lives (“…shed innocent blood…”).
Likewise, in James 4:1-10, it is stated that fighting and war comes
about due to pride; this is contrasted with the concept of submitting to God
(which requires humility rather than pride), resisting the devil (again,
requiring submission), and finally it is stated, “Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
The Bible contains multiple examples of those
that God humbled, which included mighty kings of great empires. One such person was Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon; in Daniel 5:18-31, Daniel went before Belshazzar, the son of
Nebuchadnezzar, to interpret the writing on the wall. Speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel stated
that God had given him a great kingdom and had placed him in power, yet “when
his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed
from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his
heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his
body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules
in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.” However,
Belshazzar, who knew of these events, had not humbled himself before God
(Daniel 5:22) and God removed the kingdom from him because of this fact (Daniel
5:30-31).
Similarly, we have the accounts of King Manasseh,
his son Amon, and his grandson Josiah.
Manasseh allowed his pride to lead to further wickedness, and like
Nebuchadnezzar, God removed him from power until he “humbled himself greatly
before the God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 33:1-17). On the other hand, Amon “did not humble
himself before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon
trespassed more and more” (2 Chronicles 33:22), and so God allowed Amon to be
murdered (2 Chronicles 33:24). Unlike
Manasseh and Amon, Josiah followed the will of God from a very early age; at
age 16, Josiah “began to seek the God of his father David” (2 Chronicles
34:3). Reading through the account of
Josiah, it is easy to determine that he had humbled himself before the Lord God
without having to be taught in the same manner as Nebuchadnezzar or Manasseh (2
Chronicles 34:1-35:27).
These are but brief examples from the Bible that
teach the followers of God about the need for humbleness. It is clear from these passages where the sin
of pride can lead and while pride may not be the first step in a long list of
possible transgressions, pride can lead us down the wrong road. When we consider our own attitude, do we have
a hardened heart like Belshazzar and Amon that will not be humbled? Have we had
a heart like Manasseh that has been humbled by God? Or do we have a heart like
that of Josiah?
Consider those that God has named as being
humble; in Numbers 12:3, the following was stated; “Now the man Moses was very
humble, more than all the men who were on the face of the earth.” If we stop and consider who Moses was, we
realize that he had grown up in the house of Pharaoh, which means that he was
well educated and, prior to his yielding to the will of God, very rich and
powerful. Think also of the submission
of Jesus to the Father, which required humility. Are we greater than Jesus? If Moses was
powerful, Jesus was more so since He had all of the legions of heaven, yet He
chose to do the will of the father.
When the disciples asked Jesus about who the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven would be, “Jesus called a little child to
Him” and then said in answer to those disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you,
unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore
whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven” (Matthew 18:1-5). As Christians,
we are to be like Christ, which requires us to deny ourselves and submit to His
will; this requires us to put aside pride and arrogance, and to be humble (not
in word, but in action).
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