No Room for This Kind of Pride

 I want to begin by making a profound statement to us this morning - Pride interferes with our relationship with Christ. 

You might have heard me mention that in yesterday’s exhortation. Pride interferes with our relationship with Christ. 

And can I further say, anything that interferes with our relationship with Christ is not good, cannot continue, got to go, it must die. Amen?! 

But some of you might be saying, isn’t pride a good thing? Shouldn’t I be proud of myself when I accomplish great things?

Yes of course. So that is obviously not what I’m referring to. The term pride has different meanings.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, pride can refer to a reasonable or justifiable sense of self-respect and self-esteem, as well as an inordinate self-esteem or conceit. It also denotes delight or elation arising from an achievement, possession, or relationship .

The Britannica Dictionary further elaborates that pride can be the belief that one deserves respect from others. It can also signify a sense of superiority over others, as well as happiness derived from accomplishments by oneself or others.

So we see here that while pride often means something positive, it can also mean something negative. And the latter is what I refer to when I say pride interferes with our relationship with God. It is that arrogance and vanity meaning of the word pride.

When one is too prideful, you feel you can do it all by yourself (I’ve been there). When one is too prideful, you become haughty and you lack humility. You have an exaggerated sense of your own importance or abilities.

Now we know this is contrary to how Jesus taught us to live. Therefore, this spirit will negatively impact our relationship with Him. 

Let’s discuss six points here.

1. Pride leads to self-reliance instead of trust in God.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT translation to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

So if we’re out there thinking that we know it all and can do it all by ourselves, we wouldn’t be depending on anyone and looking to God for guidance and wisdom.

Big mistake. Our experiences prove that to us over and over again. 

No matter how smart we think we are and how much resources we have in money or contacts, there are certain things and there will come a time when all of that will value nothing.

2. Pride does not accept God’s grace. 

Grace is a gift from God that believers receive and use to sustain our relationship with God. Through the grace of God we receive God’s love, mercy, and generosity. Grace is popularly referred to as the unmerited favour of God.

So if we are prideful, we are in a position where we don’t think we need this gift. And God doesn’t like that attitude because He knows that we can do nothing, we are nothing without Him.

James 4:6 says, “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

3. Pride refuses to accept wrong and repent.

1 John 1:8-9: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

So to the persons who go about calling out the faults in others and not seeing where they themselves are going wrong, it is time to look in the mirror. This kind of pride leads us to downplay or deny our sins. And we must first recognise our faults if we are to be brought to repentance, forgiveness and restoration and be that positive example to others.

The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13 “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.”

We are looking at how pride negatively impacts our relationship with God. 

So number 4 - Pride produces arrogance and selfishness.

Let’s read Philippians 2:3-8: 

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” 

As Christians, our aim is to be like Christ. Jesus was humble. 

5. Pride prevents unity and friendly association.

Some of us are so into ourselves that we don’t want to broaden our circles or we have so many people around us that chaos is the order of the day. You get a lot of gossiping and he say she say kinda stuff that leads to confusion.

It’s either people look at you and call you unfriendly, stuck up, holier than thou, selfish and yes prideful, or they stay far from you because you are just too involved here there and everywhere and have the most to say about everything whether somebody asks you or not.

Either way, it’s that spirit of pride, haughtiness, arrogance, and there’s no room for that in our lives as Christians. We have to strike a balance as we strive to be more like our Loving Heavenly Father.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”

And finally, number 6, Pride leads to negative outcomes.

If we go about with that false pride, we will not fully embrace God’s wisdom. So there’s a connection between pride and disgrace. Pride leads to one making foolish mistakes, foolish decisions and this leads to foolish consequences.

The Bible says it in Proverbs 11:2 “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”

Proverbs 29:23 “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.”

So in conclusion, we have found that pride negatively impacts our relationship with God in at least six ways:  

Pride leads to self-reliance instead of trust in God.  

Pride does not accept God’s grace. 

Pride refuses to accept wrong and repent.

Pride produces arrogance and selfishness. 

Pride leads to negative outcomes.

And Pride prevents unity and friendly association. 

Now who wants to be in that position? None of us right? 

So there is no room for this kind of pride in our lives as Christians.

If we want to develop a healthy and vibrant relationship with Christ, we must embrace humility, acknowledging our need for Him and striving to follow His example of selfless love and service. 

May we all accept the help of God today if we are struggling in this area of our Christian walk.

aub - 21May24

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