The Problem with Pride

The Problem with Pride (Proverbs 16:18)

Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Pride is the worst of all sins. It is also the original sin. Pride is not self-esteem, although we need self-esteem and should have it. Pride is arrogance or having an exaggerated opinion of oneself. Pride carries with it a must-be-seen attitude. A turtle, who wanted to spend the winter in Florida but he knew he could never travel that far, convinced a couple of geese to help him, each taking one end of a piece of rope while he clamped his vise-like jaws in the center. The flight went fine until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, "Who in the world thought of that?" Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, "I ahhhhhh............."

Pride is the predecessor to destruction and is the forerunner of trouble. Arrogance, or a bighead, always precedes a fall. Pride and arrogance are balloons that are soon popped. In Muhammad Ali’s heyday as the heavy weight champion in boxing, he had taken his seat on a 747 which was starting to taxi down the runway for take off. The flight attendant walked by and noticed Ali did not have his seatbelt on and said, “Please fasten your seatbelt, sir.” He looked up proudly and snapped, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” Without hesitation she stared at him and said, “Superman don’t need no plane.”

Pride leads to falling, failure, and destruction. This word "destruction" is from the word sheber. It was used to describe something that was smashed or shattered to pieces.

The Bible is filled with examples of proud people that fell.
* King Nebuchadnezzar fell because of the pride of accomplishment (Daniel 4).
* Abasalom and Pharaoh fell because of the pride of authority (II Samuel 13-15).
* Herod Agrippa fell because of the pride from accolaides and applause (Acts 12).
* Goliath fell because of the pride from his abilities (I Samuel 17).
* Jezebel and Lucifer fell because of the pride of appearance (II Kings 9; Ezekiel 28).
* Belshazzar fell because of the pride from audacity or rebellion (Daniel 5).
* Haman fell because of the pride from his assumptions and associations with the king (Esther 3-7).
* Benhadad fell because of the pride from armaments or strength (I Kings 20).

Pride leads to a fall and destruction. It shatters a person's life. Why? Proud people refuse to listen to caution or warnings because they don't feel they need to listen. Proud people are not approachable or teachable. Because they behave this way, they miss out on important information that can help them make wise decisions and avoid costly mistakes. When those warnings go unheeded, then sudden destruction may come. Pride also makes us feel invincible. We may think, "Nothing can hurt me or I can handle anything that comes my way." Then something does come along that does hurt us and we cannot handle it. If you don't get a grip on your pride, it will destroy you. Solomon warned us extensively about pride and its destructiveness. He addressed the issue of pride 13 times in Proverbs.

Proud people also are concerned about their image or trying to impress others. Someone put it this way when they said, "People are funny. They spend money they don't have to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like and really don't care what they have." I like what Mark Twain did. He spent a large sum of money to trace his family tree and then spent twice as much trying to keep his ancestry a secret. Don't go through life feeling you have to try to impress everyone. Just be yourself and let the chips fall where they fall. Don't be a slave to the opinions or expectations of others. Don't let your pride keep you from reconciling with loved ones when there is an argument or disagreement.

Everything you and I have comes from God. A man once said to one of his customers, "I built and earned everything I have with these two hands." The customer responded asking him, "Where did you get those hands?” Who gave you your mind, your talents, and your abilities? There is only one cause for not being close to God, and that is pride. Have you noticed the middle letter in the words "pride" and "sin?" When we have an "I" problem, it pushes us away from God. Another word for pride is "ego," which someone has said stands for "edging God out." Only one thing can destroy pride in our lives, and that is humility. Humility is the opposite of pride. Humility can push pride out of our hearts. The ultimate example of humility is Jesus Christ. That's why “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

Prayer, Father in Heaven, too often I have knowingly, and also ignorantly, come against Your will and Your ways. Open my eyes to the blessings of humility. Let me view it in its beauty and fullness of joy not as the world sees it. While I desire a life of godly humility, pride pulls hard to overpower me. In my warfare against pride, help me to fight against ego and the flesh as I pursue humility. Your Son left the pleasures of heaven for a life of service on earth. He gave His life for ungodly, ungrateful and undeserving people. Help me have His attitude, remembering that You resist the proud and give grace to the humble. In Jesus name, Amen!

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