The Monster of Pride

Outward beauty hiding an internal stench
Service to others with a selfish bent
Praising God for my success
Changing externals to impress
Obedience with a grumbling heart
Doing my best to look the part
Seeking fulfillment in people and things
Forgetting to seek the Lord and the peace He brings
Seeking peace through a judgmental spirit
Speaking the truth while unwilling to hear it
Gaining my patience impatiently
Externally loving hiding internal animosity
Boasting in God while praising myself
Hoping in strength, people, and health
Always denying the enemy inside
Deceived by and blinded by pride

~C.S

Let me tell you how hard it is to post such a truthful thing about myself. It is hard to admit my faults before others, but I know it is what the Lord is calling me to. In order to get real with God, I first needed to get real with myself. My whole life as a christian has been marred by pride. It is my ever constant companion. It is harmful to every good thing in life. It sabotages relationships, seeks to be the center of attention, creates disunity, allows for self-righteous thinking, justifies wrong actions, and most of all it takes my eyes and trust off the Lord. In our culture of self reliance and focus on our successes and strengths, I think we learn to trust in ourselves. I know this is all to true for my own life. 

Pride questions God. 

It exalts itself above God and others.

It lies and deceives. 

It traps and ensnares us.  

It makes us wise in our own eyes. 

It is disgraceful.

It is evil, wicked, and destructive.

It opposes God.

It is sin.

God says it is an abomination.

Is there any question that pride is a huge problem? I think not. The Lord has been revealing the ugliness of the pride in my own life. My flesh will find a way to be prideful in every situation. It is pathetic, but I have hope that God is working. I am changing. It is exciting.

There are too many scripture passages to post on pride, so I will keep it to a limited number. For a more exhaustive study, simply search for words like pride, proud, humble, humility, and lowly in the Bible. It is clear that God knows the issues of man. 

God sees pride as a big deal. 

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.
Proverbs 16:5 (NASB)

He said, “What comes out of a person defiles him. For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas,sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander,pride, and folly. All these evils come from within and defile a person.”
Mark 7:20-23 (NET)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.
1 John 2:16-17 (NET)

Pride goes before destruction,and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18 (NET)

A person’s pride will bring him low, but one who has a lowly spirit will gain honor.
Proverbs 29:23 (NET)

I don't feel the need to say much on the subject of pride, probably because it is such a large issue of my own. I feel that the Word of God is sufficient. Here is some encouragement and exhortation from the word of God on the issue.

In the same way, you who are younger,be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 

 1 Peter 5:5-10 (NET)

But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. 

James 4:6-10 (NET)

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

                                                                                                Luke 14:11 (NET)

The Lord lifts up the oppressed,but knocks the wicked to the ground. 

                                Proverbs 147:6 (NET)

I understand the difficulty of admitting pride in your life. Believe me, the Lord brought me to my knees on this one. It was a painful process and still is. I have not gained mastery over this in my life. I am not so sure I ever will, but I know He is there beside me. I know the Lord forgives me each time I acknowledge that pride. He knew this would be a struggle of mine. Here are a few last words of encouragement from the Word.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17

Listen to this sermon on Humble Pride.
v§Humble Pride