Pride goes before destruction; and a haughty spirit before a fall.    Proverbs 16:18 ESV

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.     Proverbs 11:12 ESV

One’s pride will bring him low, but the one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.     Proverbs 29:23 ESV

Yesterday we spoke of forgiveness and I had a friend who asked me why I thought it was so hard for some to forgive. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know at times when I have found it hardest to forgive someone it has been because of pride. I felt like I had to stand my ground. I had to let that person know that I wasn’t going to be pushed around. I had to let them know that they had gone too far that time. My pride just simply would not allow me to forgive.

If you search for the word pride in the Bible, you will see that no good comes from it. I just pulled three of the 100 verses and I can assure you that nowhere in the Bible does it say that pride is a good thing. What we need to understand is that pride does just the opposite of what the Bible tells us to do. Pride says that we are better than others. Pride says that our feelings matter more than others. Pride says that if we have a disagreement then it is because the other person was wrong and we are right. When we “stand our ground” because of pride, we are setting ourselves up for destruction. The Bible is very clear about that.

The Bible tells us in Romans 12:16 that we should live in harmony with one another, not to be haughty, associate with the lowly and never be wise in our own sight. Philippians 2:3 tells us that we should do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. We can’t do that when we are prideful.

There are so many Scripture passages about pride that I could spend a week on it and I probably will. But today, I want to talk about what pride is. The dictionary defines pride as the extreme pleasure or satisfaction in one’s own achievements or consciousness of one’s own dignity. If we believe God’s Word to be true, we must consider John 15:5 which tells us we can do nothing without God. So our achievements are not our own, but God’s working through us. If we are conscious of our own dignity, it means that we feel that we are worthy of honor and respect. If our focus is on Jesus and giving God honor and praise and respect, then we should not be focused on our own dignity. The Bible tells us that if we humble ourselves, God will exalt us (James 4:10).

Some hold on to their pride like a security blanket. I understand this. There was a time in my life when I was hurt deeply and I felt that my pride was all I had left. I was so wrong. My pride only led to more trouble. I had to let go of it and give it over to God. I had to let Him remove that from me as well as all my bitterness and anger that I spoke of yesterday.

If your pride is something you cling to for security, know that the devil is lying to you. The devil will tell you not to let go of your pride, but this is because he wants you to be destroyed (John 10:10). The devil knows that your pride brings destruction. The devil believes in God and the Scriptures. Don’t let him lie to you and tell you that your pride is a good thing. Don’t let him tell you that you need to hang on to it. Let it go.

Maybe you have been holding on to your pride for many years, maybe all your life. What will you do with all this pride? Well, you can give it over to God. He can remove it from you. You can ask God to take all that pride out of your heart and replace it with His Holy Spirit.

Our scripture passages tell us that our pride will destroy us. But we just read in James 4:10 that if we humble ourselves, God will exalt us.

I’ve tried it both ways. I have puffed up with pride which led to destruction and I’ve humbled myself and let God bring me up from the depths of despair. Pride is not worth the destruction it brings. Turn to God today and allow Him to remove any pride from you.

When pride is removed, we can put Jesus first and considers others more important than ourselves. This is how we have true joy in our lives. Lay your pride aside today, it will only weigh you down.

Have a great day!