When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.  Proverbs 11:2  HCSB

The Lord destroys the house of the proud, but he protects the widow’s territory.  Proverbs 15:25  HCSB

The result of humility is fear of the Lord, along with wealth, honor, and life.  Proverbs 22:4  HCSB

A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.  Proverbs 29:23  HCSB

So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.  For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.  2 Corinthians 10:17-18 HCSB

The bible is very clear on the fact that God hates pride (Proverbs 6:16-17).  So if God hates it, you can be sure that the devil loves it.  The devil loves to convince us that we are all that and a bag of chips and if we don’t boast about ourselves then no one will.  The devil wants us to get all puffed up with pride because he knows that this will upset God.  So you may say, “what’s so awful about pride?”  Well I am glad that you asked.

You see, pride leads to self-centeredness.  Pride leads to greed.  Pride is a gateway for many other behaviors that God detests.  It starts out with us being proud of a job well done.  Not so bad, right?  But this leads to us thinking that “we’ve got this”.  We can run this show on our own.  Huge mistake, my friend.  We have nothing, God’s got this.  We do nothing without relying on His strength and His power.

Yesterday we spoke about our gifts.  When we are proud of what we can do, we fail to remember that the reason we are good at certain things is because God has given us these gifts.  We can do all things through Christ who strengthen us (Philippians 4:13).  With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  But without God, what I really have is a mess.  Oh, I may deceive myself for a while that all is well, but that is a house of cards just waiting to topple over.  Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Now there is another kind of pride that is not so bad.  When we are proud of the blessings we have like in our children.  I am so very proud of my stepson and the wonderful young woman that he has chosen.  I am very proud of my nieces and nephews.  They are as beautiful inside and out as they are intelligent.  They have also had the good sense to choose to marry those who are also beautiful inside and out, intelligent and make wonderful parents for my great nieces and nephews. So, yes I can boast about the blessings that God has given me in my family.  I am proud of these blessings that God has provided.  I can boast in the Lord and what He has given me. Thanks God!

But the pride that God hates is when we are all about what we can do.  When we boast about our great accomplishments, we disappoint God.  If you want to boast about something give thanks and praise to God for his gift of allowing you to accomplish that goal.  Oh, and while we are on the subject, guess who else hates pride?  Pretty much everyone else.

Yep, I hate to break it to you, but those around you are sick of hearing you brag about yourself as well.  They may smile politely and “ooh and ahh” as you brag about your wonderful accomplishments, but they are only doing that in hopes that you will soon stop.  Now, I know that this sounds harsh, but honestly I know people that wouldn’t have a word to say if they weren’t busy going on and on about all they have done and are capable of doing.  It’s exhausting just being around the habitual braggart.

So, take a minute to do a little self exam this morning.  Are you strutting around with your chest poked out, thinking you are all that.  The Bible tells us that someone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 16:5), not good.  Galatians 6:3 says that if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  Now you proud people are saying, “I don’t think I know”  or “the proof is in the pudding”, or “it’s not bragging if it’s true”.  STOP!  Humble yourself before the Lord.  I promise you, you do not want to brag yourself right into the lake of fire.  We must take this seriously!

We are to lean on God.  We are to give it all over to Him.  I am begging you today to understand that we do nothing without God’s strength and God’s power.  I also want you to understand that if you don’t humble yourself before the Lord, eventually He will humble you and you don’t want that. The next time you open your mouth to boast about something you have done or are doing, give God the glory. This is a great way to witness. This is also good practice for when we get to heaven.  The Bible tells us that we will be praising God in heaven, so we better start practicing now, if we hope to get there.

Have a great day!