Monday Musings: The Danger of Human Pride
The month of June is known as “Pride Month.” It is where the LGBTQ community celebrates and takes pride in their lifestyle. While we affirm that every person is created in the image of God, and that as a result, every human being is worthy of being treated with honor, dignity, and respect, we of course disagree with the affirmations of the LGBTQ community, and have already shared on this blog that marriage is between one man and one woman and was designed by God to paint a visible picture of the gospel, the relationship between Jesus and His church. We furthermore affirm that Gender is designed by God, stated elsewhere on the blog “From the Pastor’s Desk.
But I want us to think about Pride. This has been something I have been thinking about. In a book I have been reading entitled, “Pastors and their Critics: A guide to Coping with Criticism in Ministry,” Joel Beeke addresses the common sin of Pride.
He describes Pride in this way.
It is a form of self-deification. The tragedy of all sin is that it turns us from God; the double tragedy of pride is that is turns us against God in an ettemp to lift self above God…..By nature, we puff ourselves sup with false notions of self-importance and self satisfaction, doing everything in our power to serve and preserve this fatally skewed perception of who we really are.”
He continues:
Pride is not satisfied, however, with its own high estimation, but wants all the world to join in praising and adoring the self, In our arrogance, we desire others to affirm that we really are as great as we have deceived ourselves into believing we are.”
C.J. Mahaney in his book Humility defines Pride this way, “Pride is when sinful human beings aspire the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence on Him.”
Instead of getting upset that there is a “Pride Month” I want us to take this time to look into our own hearts where Pride may exists, where we may think more “highly of ourselves than we ought.” (Romans 12:3).
Pride is dangerous because ignores the reality of our sin. Beeke writes,
Here is what we are by nature: finite, weak, sinful: wayward, helpless, and hopeless. Is it not unfitting for us to exalt such a self?
Of course it is unfitting to exalt ourselves when apart from Jesus we are “dead in trespasses in sins.” There are so many scriptures that talk about how sinful we are, and pride causes us to have spiritual amnesia, forgetting who we are apart from Jesus.
Pride is dangerous because it stems from and causes us to have a low view of God. Beeke writes:
Low views of God promote high views of self, whereas high views of God help us to see our true state. We would do well to mediate on God transcendent, self-sufficient, eternal, unchanging majesty, along with his spotless purity, moral equity, and steadfast love and faithfulness. One cannot believingly behold the glory of God in general and special revelation without his self-promoting pride becoming deflated.
We become prideful and think more highly of ourselves than we ought, when we don’t think highly enough of God. Pride causes us to have debased thoughts of God. When God is exalted, we are brought low. The prideful person has a low view of God.
Is this not evident in our culture? Those who celebrate pride have an utter disregard for the things of God and his Word. They do so because they do not esteem him, that have a debased view of God. But we too, when we think of ourself more highly than we ought to think, it is because we do not have a right view of God either.
Pride is dangerous because it keeps us from benefiting from criticism.
We need others to speak truth into our lives. We need to be able to except positive criticism. But when we are prideful, as Joel Beeke writes, “
It will either infuriate us that someone would dare attack our self-complex, or it will crush us because our self image is founded on the praise of men. Pride will either lead us to become defensive or devastated in the face of criticism.
The truth is God uses positive criticism in our sanctification. We have to always be learners. None of us have arrived at the level of holiness that God desires, so we constantly need to learn and listen to others. Pride keeps us form that, and when it does come, it will be destructive to us.
Yet, negative criticism also can come our way. When this happens, when we think rightly of ourselves then we will have the posture that Charles Spurgeon says we ought to have:
If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, for you are far worse than he thinks you to be.
This is so helpful. There is no one that can say anything that the Bible doesn’t give a more grave pronouncement on the condition of my soul apart from Jesus.
Pride is dangerous because it undermines unity in the church. Pride swells up when people think they are better than another group of people. Perhaps they think they are more holy, or have a better theology, or better than other members in some fashion. Wherever there is a church facing division and quarreling, pride is behind it.
Pride is dangerous because it destroys leaders. We all know Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When a leader falls into gross immorality and falls, it is because pride has taken root in his heart.
Instead of Pride, we need to pursue humility.
CJ. Mahaney notes a few things about humility.
Humility draws the gaze of our Sovereign God. In Isaiah 66:2, God says, “This is the one to whom I look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
Humility invites the grace of God into our loves. In James 4:6 it says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. When we humbly come before God, acknowledging our sinful state, coming before him pleading for mercy, he gives us his grace.
Humility causes us to asses ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness. As Joel Beeke has noted, Pride causes a low view of God, but when we have a right view of God we will rightly see ourselves. When we have a right view of our sinfulness, pride is impossible.
So this pride month, let’s use this as an opportunity for introspection. Where has pride been swelling in my own heart? Maybe you are reading this as a member of the LGBTQ community, I pray the Lord would use this to convict you of your sin of exalting your ways above God’s ways, and thinking you are better than Him. I pray that you would see God for who his is, and your sin for what it is, and humbly bow before him seeking his grace and mercy.
Maybe you are a believer like me. You are trusting in Jesus for salvation. You go to church regularly, you tithe, you sing during all the worship songs, and show up to church anytime you can. Even for folks like you and me, pride can sweep up in our hearts. We can even become prideful in our religious performance.
Wherever you are today, turn from any sin of pride that may be in your life and humbly bow before Christ our King and come to Him for grace and mercy.
