God Hates Pride

Don’t look at others and say that they are prideful. Don’t look at others and compare yourself with “their pride.” Look rather to yourself, look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I prideful, am I haughty, am I arrogant?” Don’t look at the person sitting next to you or across the other side of the church and say that those people want to give the appearance of humility and don’t look to the front of the church and say that those people are prideful. Look at yourself and ask yourself, “Am I prideful?” God has given us the scriptures to look at to help us along the way.

Perhaps they can give us the information we need.

In the book of Daniel (5:18-30) The is the story of Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar who was very prideful of “his” accomplishments. He gave no honor to God who is the true God and thus God took the throne away from him.

We can read of another similar account in 2 Chronicles 26 where King Uzziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. King Uzziah took care of the people, built cities, created a great army, but then he became prideful. His pride, the scripture says, led to his downfall. He did that which was unlawful. He entered the temple and burned incense which only the priests could do. As a result of his pride, leprosy broke out on his forehead that remained for the rest of his life. He no longer lived in the palace but in a separate house, isolated until the day he died.

We read in Proverbs 6:16-19 that there are seven things the Lord detests and the first one listed is “Pride.” Why does God detest “Pride?” Because it says to others that, “I am better than you are.” (My baseball team is better, my company is better; my home is nicer, etc. You look down on people because they have not accomplished what you’ve accomplished, or so you think.) Pride occurs when we want to glorify ourselves and our accomplishments. Pride says to God, “I don’t need you; I can do it on my own.” Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the same status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependency on Him. Pride says to God, “I am going to contend with you for supremacy.” Contend with God for supremacy? You are probably saying that you would never do that. Won’t you? What makes you so sure? Are you prideful of the fact that you are not prideful?

We read in Ezekiel 28 where God calls Lucifer the model of perfection and in Isaiah 14 he is called the “Morning star, son of the dawn.” Lucifer wanted to contend for supremacy with God and we know that God was quick to respond. Because no sin is permitted in heaven, Lucifer was cast out, he and all the angels who also became prideful. On your own, are you more powerful than Lucifer?

After Lucifer fell he was given a new name, Satan (Adversary of God). He is opposed to God. He is trying to deceive you and bring you down to his level. You’ve heard the saying, “misery loves company?” That’s Satan. He wants you with him. He will do whatever he can to bring you down. He started at the very beginning with Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3 we read where the Serpent deceived Eve. He honed in on the one thing that brought him down… Pride. “You can be just like God, you can be as smart as him, as wise as him, and you can live forever.” He of course lied to Eve but it was her Pride, her desire to be “just like God” that brought her down.
What about Job? Surely not Job! Didn’t God say that Job was blameless and upright? We read in Job 32:2 that Elihu became very angry with Job because he was justifying himself rather than God. Job’s sin was Pride.

Proverbs 16:18 says that Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall. This can be on an individual basis or a corporate basis. It can happen in a local community or on a national scale. It can happen in a small church or a mega church. When pride enters in, be sure of this, destruction is coming, the fall is just around the corner. I read in Isaiah 3 how the women of Zion were haughty, thinking themselves to be better than others, always looking down at people. It said that their necks were stretched out (kind of like having your nose in the air, they were flirting with their eyes, taking dainty steps, and covered with jewelry. They were snobbish. God doesn’t want his people to be prideful. He loves us to much to leave us there. He will do whatever it takes to bring us back to humility. For the women of Zion, this meant that God would give the women baldness with scabs on their heads. This meant God would cause them to loose all of their fine jewelry and beautiful clothing. This meant that God would actually make them stink. It says that God would replace their beauty with shame.

Both the Apostle Peter and James the brother of Jesus said that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Brothers and sisters, we must examine ourselves and ask God to reveal to us the areas of our life whereby we are prideful. We must repent of our sin of pride and ask to for humility. We must have the humility of Jesus himself. Philippians 2:5 says your “attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus showed His humility in many ways. Jesus, a king, rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Jesus exemplified humility by washing the feet of his disciples; Jesus left his throne in heaven to save us.

Repent of your pride, pray to God asking him to make you humble.

For more resources on pride and humility, visit Emmaus Road Christian Store.