Pride the silent killer
28 June 2011
"A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit"- Proverbs 29:23
The book of Proverbs has been described by William Arnot as "Law's from heaven for life on earth." From Solomon's pen we may all learn from a man vested with wisdom from above. Much is said of pride in his catalogue of pithy sayings that will enable us to discover this silent killer in our own spiritual checkup.
I refer to pride as a silent killer because it is like high blood pressure. It takes a trained physician to discover the disease lurking within the soul. But unlike high blood pressure, pride is a spiritual disease that we all have in one degree or another. Those who think they have the least are usually the ones who have the most of it.
So, what is pride, anyway? It is insensitivity concerning self; a false or inaccurate assessment of self; a dishonest opinion of self. In other words, it is not seeing oneself in the same way that God sees us. Though our opinions of self may be grand, though we may excuse our sinful habits as a part of a wonderful person, the disease will finally have its way with the soul. The consequences can be eternal.
It was this sin of pride that cast the covering cherub out of heaven. It was pride that lifted up Pharaoh's heart and brought destruction to Egypt: "Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?" It is pride that will give us infinite excuses for our short temper, our tongue, and whatever other sin we toss on the back burner. Pride makes us look at our faults like the spot on Spot the dog. He was born with it so he will live with it. No big deal.
One person said this of pride, "Pride and ambition are the desire to see myself lovely in my own eyes and have others see me that way in their eyes." Yes, pride loves the worship of self. If people will not worship me, I do not need their friendship. There is a song and one of the lines goes, "learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all." But according to the Bible, the love of self comes natural. All of Adam's creatures are born with plenty of self-centered love for themselves. Learning to love others, and serve them, is the most difficult thing. That is a Christ-centered life, as opposed to a self-centered life. Luther said, "I am more afraid of self than the pope and all his cardinals...the pope of my own heart."
Yes, pride is found in everyone. It is found in the pulpit, and in the pew. It is found in the pulpit when the preacher dresses up in his fine gown, or his fancy suit to either look holy, or impress someone. It is found when his message is designed to impress people with his knowledge, rather then feed the flock of God. Fancy rings and jewelry in the pulpit do not impress God. It is found equally in the pew. It is possible that there may be a few that come to church thinking that they have nothing to learn, nothing to repent of, nothing to change in their own personal walk with the Lord, and certain that that particular preacher does not know as much as they do. Pride!
Though there are many pitfalls to pride. The worst is that it keeps us from God. It keeps us from repentance because pride makes excuses for sin rather than owning up and confessing. That is our barrier. Pride keeps us from triumphing over sin. If you are struggling with a great sin today, whether it is a sexual sin, a drug habit, an addiction to pornography, or any other sin that has you by the throat, the power to overcome it will never be found in self. Pride must be cast out, excuses must be thrown away, and a full acknowledgement must be made to the only One that has the power to remove, and cancel sin. My friends, we need help. We need to get as close to the Lord as we can.
When it comes to forgiveness, pride is like the Berlin wall. It stands between families and loved ones, and will never be broken down until the heart humbles itself. Pride will never admit a wrong doing, or forgive freely like Jesus did. Yes, pride has many pitfalls.
Christ was the opposite of pride. He is the only One who has ever walked planet earth devoid of pride. Let us emulate Him! He made Himself of no reputation. Let us not seek one. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the cross. Let us crucify our sins today. He came not to be ministered to, but to minister to others. Let this mind be in us as well. Father, help us to see pride in our own lives and take the medicine of humility to keep it in check. -NMP
