The sin of pride is something that every human being struggles with. We’re born with a pride nature and we buck against anything or anyone who tries to correct that part of us. But the first step toward overcoming pride is identifying it in our lives.
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 NKJV
Pride is a sin. It most likely is the more dominant of all sins. It’s said that other sins spring and take root from this very destructive sin. The above bible verse is a warning to the proud and is a promise for the humble. Pride is the self-confidence of our self-importance, whereas humility is the recognition that we are weak, unworthy, and fully dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
God promises ‘grace’ to the humble.
Understanding the Sin of Pride
I believe we all understand what pride is. We are also very quick to recognize it in others, but, just in case you’re not too sure, I’ll briefly describe it for you:
An admin clerk of a company has been promoted to admin manager. She becomes highly difficult to work with. All those beneath her cannot seem to do things right. She is always putting them down and criticizing them about everything. She seems to be the only person that does things the “right” way. She also never apologizes for how she spoke to her colleagues and never admits it when she was wrong.
When someone cannot admit they are wrong, it’s a sure sign of pride. Pride is a sense of entitlement, wanting power for yourself, which actually belongs to God.
Sadly, the world views pride as an honorable quality. Everything the world offers contributes to building our ego. However, the Bible is clear about pride.
Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. Proverbs 16:5 NKJV
The Solution to Pride
The good news is that we have a source which we can go to for the problem of pride. Let us be completely honest with ourselves as we go before the Lord and confess the sin of pride, daily, or as it arises. If you see yourself as a sinner saved by grace through faith alone, it’s nothing that we have done, but is a gift from God, then you’ll be on your way to transformation in Christ.
C.S Lewis calls pride the ‘great sin’ in his book Mere Christianity it reads:
There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and which hardly any people except Christians ever imagine that they are guilty themselves…There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which We are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. (NY:Millian,1943 p.94)
God bless you.
