Pride goes before destruction; and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 ESV
At Christmas time, we tend to see Gingerbread Houses and Gingerbread Men. I couldn’t help but look this up. I had forgotten the story of the Gingerbread Man. As I read it, I remembered the phrase, “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man.” You may be wondering what this has to do with studying the Bible, but as many children’s stories do, this one certainly has a moral to which we should all pay close attention.
In the story, an old woman baked the Gingerbread Man. He escaped her, dashing through the countryside. He got away from farm workers and farm animals. All the while repeating his prideful phrase about how no one could catch him because he was too fast. The fox, however, didn’t chase him; he outsmarted him. The fox put an end to the Gingerbread Man.
The moral of this story is a great illustration of Proverbs 16:18, which tells us that Pride goes before destruction and a prideful spirit goes before a fall. Actually, the Bible has a lot to say about pride.
The first thing we must understand is that pride is something we get from the world. It’s not something we get from God. 1 John 2:16 tells us this. Pride is an abomination to the Lord. An abomination is defined as something that causes disgust or hatred. Proverbs 16:5 assures that the prideful will not go unpunished. Proverbs 26:12 tells us there is more hope for a fool than for a prideful man.
I spent many years of my life in pride; it didn’t work so well for me. I know now that I can do nothing without Him (John 15:5). He gives me life and every breath I breathe. The opposite of pride is humility. When we are prideful, God has ways to bring us to our knees and humble us.
When we realize how destructive pride can be, it should bring us to a point of humility. The Bible also has a lot to say about humility.
Romans 12:16 says, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” James 4:6 tells us God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. In fact, Proverbs 18:12 tells us that while the prideful face destruction, the humble receive honor.
Pride brings us destruction; it’s biblical. God promises our pride will not go unpunished. Humility brings us grace and honor.
James 4:10 simply tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt us or lift us up. 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time.”
Simply put, if we humble ourselves, God will lift us. If we are prideful, God will be sure to humble us. In Matthew 23:12, Jesus said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
You can live in pride for a while here, as the Gingerbread Man did before being eaten by the fox. You can face certain destruction and know that your behavior brings God’s disgust. Or you can humble yourself before the Lord, surrender to His will, and He, Himself, will exalt you.
When we live a life of pride, our pride is short-lived and brings about certain destruction. But once we are exalted by God, that’s for eternity. Think about it and choose wisely.
Have a great day!