“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18; cf. I Corinthians 10:12).  Wow!  You would think that many in our world and some even within the body of Christ need to read this verse several times over.  The result of pride is a fall.  Pride will bring a man low (Proverbs 29:23).  Pride is certainly a form of bondage (Psalms 73:6).  The bondage of pride keeps people from humbly submitting to the Lord.  Others are so blinded through their pride that they cannot see anything wrong with themselves for they cannot help but to explain their own self-righteousness to everyone around them.

     I once had a brother talk to me about pride.  He approached me and said: “I am the right man to talk to someone about pride, for I am the most humble man I know.”  Now, that is the most blatant misunderstanding of what pride is that I have ever seen.  In fact, that example brings to mind a Parable taught by our Lord: “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:9-14).  One who brags of his humility is no different than the Pharisee whom the Lord condemned in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.

     Being a Christian is about following the Lord and seeking to obey Him in every area of our lives.  Thus, when we seek to know what pleases God we must go to His word and find what He desires on any given subject matter.  It just so happens to be that God has been very clear on the subject matter of pride.  Through the pen of Solomon God expressed that He hates pride: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).  When the expression of hate comes from the mind of God through the pens of men to us, we cannot ignore such a forceful explanation of God’s reaction to a matter.  The Lord hates pride.  Why would anyone that claims to be a servant of the Most High God think that their pride will be overlooked?  One just has to completely ignore Scriptures like the following to come to the conclusion that pride is acceptable to God: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:6).

     Pride, like other sins, comes from the heart of man and defiles man.  That is what Jesus taught: “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20-23).  Pride does not come from someone who lives a godly life.  Pride comes not from God, but from the world (I John 2:16).  God does not desire for us to be proud.  Our Lord wants us to humble ourselves before His eyes.

     James wrote: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:10).  We serve a God who created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).  When Paul noticed the ignorant worship of those in Athens he preached a lesson about the Lord.  The lesson he gave serves as a great text that should humble any man as we think about God and what He has done and can do.  Paul preached and Luke wrote of his words which were: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:24-31).  Anyone who truly realizes the power of God has to be humbled.

     When we speak of God’s attributes and what He has and can do, we realize how small we are.  When we humble ourselves, and speak of doing so in the sight of God, we then show that we realize that God sees and knows us and our actions (Hebrews 4:13).  A proud heart is not always obvious to others, but the Lord knows the hearts of men (Psalms 139:1).  Thus, we must realize that humbling ourselves in the sight of God is more than just an act.  God knows the truth about how proud or humble we truly are.  Our questions need to be posed to ourselves about the humility we have in our own lives.

     Do we realize our role in life?  Do we realize that all that we do is done through the abilities that God has blessed us with?  The Psalmist said: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalms 28:7).  Paul said: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).  Do we have the mindset of the Psalmist and of Paul?  In Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome he said the following: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).

     Do we realize that the strength we receive as God’s children to do good things is from above?  We must learn to exalt the Lord instead of ourselves.  We must know that glory goes to God for all things good (I Corinthians 10:31).  When we accomplish something great or small we must see that we do not take the credit that is due to our Father which is in Heaven.  This will truly help us to humble ourselves in the sight of God and keep from pride that would lead us to a fall.

     Pride surely does go before destruction.  God will not pardon those who fail to humble themselves in His sight.  The Lord is not going to accept the proud.  The Lord shows that He will not extend grace to the proud through the pen of James: “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).  Those who are proud in their hearts are an abomination in the eyes of the Lord (Proverbs 16:5).  How much more would need to be said to reveal to us that He desires a people that are humble?

     “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin” (Proverbs 21:4).  PRIDE IS SIN!  Sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). There is a price to pay for sin.  That price is eternal damnation (Romans 6:23).  God is certainly a God who is longsuffering (II Peter 3:9).  However, we need not attempt to test the patience of God.  If we do not humble ourselves in His sight Heaven will not be our eternal home.

     In conclusion, when Jesus was on this earth He taught things very clearly and plainly.  He used common things, such as Parables, to illustrate deep spiritual lessons in a simplistic way.  Children are humble in many ways and honest at heart.  Notice the lesson Jesus made using children to make His point and apply it to your life: “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4).