Pride can kill anyone. Pride is the beginning of the end for relationships, or churches or friendships. Pride is especially deadly to your relationship with God. God has said in His Word, “be holy because I am holy”. So why aren’t we holy? Probably because of the notion that we are human and can attain any amount of holiness, but that is not what being holy means.
The real meaning of holy is this: to be “set apart” or “dedicated” to God. Being holy is part and parcel of being a Christian! It doesn’t mean that we are sinless or that we can’t have fun but we must be a part of the world but stand apart from the world by being dedicated to the work of God on this Earth. When you live a life with pride in yourself you are placing yourself on the throne of your life, in effect you declare yourself to be “god”.
Pride is a very subtle drug which can cause you very BIG problems. It may not happen at the beginning and it will likely be so easy at first, but you will fall from the platform that you have stepped up on. Pride can convince you that you are more than you are. More powerful, more handsome, more forceful as a preacher, more successful than you really are. Pride can put blinders on your eyes and it can harden your heart to the point that the Holy Spirit cannot get your attention anymore.
Truthfully, pride is the mother and father of ALL SINS. Why do I say this? Because it was pride which caused Adam and Eve to fall, it caused Saul to disobey God and lose the job of being King of Israel, on and on through the Bible. Pride could be the chief demon of Satan’s army.
God and His Holy Spirit together can give you the strength to resist pride and only with their help can you do it. When you feel pride beginning to bubble up, get into God’s Word and seek His wisdom. Pray for His guiding hand in all of your life. In teaching, in preaching, in life, in everything that you do make sure that it is Jesus Christ that you are following every moment of every day.
Read and study God’s Word and make sure that it is the Holy Spirit which is leading you in everything that you do and say. Because there is no way that pride can bring you down IF you are following Jesus and His wisdom every day.
Remember the Proverbs about pride:
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 18:12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.