The Danger Of PRIDE
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV)
What’s one thing that destroys many relationships, individuals, organizations and is a thing that God Himself hates? It’s PRIDE!!! It is very dangerous to operate in pride. What is PRIDE? The Hebrew word for pride is gaon which means exaltation, to "rise up". Pride is exalting yourself above God and others- placing your focus only on YOU. When you exalt yourself you look down on others. Pride elevates and exalts itself. Pride is arrogance, presumption, conceit, self-satisfaction, boasting, and high-mindedness. At the root of all sin is pride. If you look carefully at the word pride, right in the middle is the letter I. PRIDE focuses on “I”. It’s the unhealthy obsession with ourselves. It all boils down to self-worship.
Pride is what got Lucifer (who was a leader in Heaven, now know as satan)- demoted. He was a prideful leader who was focused on “I”. Isaiah 14:12–14 tells us about “The 5 I-Wills of Lucifer” that got him kicked out of Heaven. He said “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation. On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” Pride has us focused on “I” like Lucifer and it will get us in trouble like it did him. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. If you want to predict your failure see if you’re operating in PRIDE. Pride brings destruction and a great fall. 1 Peter 5:5 tells us that God opposes the proud. God hates pride! The Greek word for opposed is antitassó which means to rage in battle against. The prideful are at war with God. If you’re at war with God, there’s no way you’re going to win. God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble. The greatest leadership trait is HUMILITY. God lifts up the humble in due time because they humble themselves under His mighty hand. Stop exalting yourself! If you exalt yourself you have a great fall awaiting. Wait for God to lift you up in the right time. When God exalts you, He sustains you with His mighty hand. When you exalt yourself, you’re on your own. Pride makes you think you don’t need God because you’ve now become your own god. Many of us are blinded to the fact that we are prideful. What are some ways to tell that you as a leader or individual is operating in pride?
Subtle Signs You’re Operating In Pride…
- Refuse to listen to advice/input from others
- Think you don’t need feedback or constructive criticism
- False sense of entitlement
- Blame others for your mistakes instead of admitting you’re wrong and taking accountability
- Take all the credit for success
- Protect your position at all costs
- Wrapped up into titles
- Obessession with material wealth, appearance, notoriety and possessions
- Fueled by unhealthy competition
- Failure to see your own weaknesses but finding fault in others
- Attention seeking
- Manipulation to gain your own way and agenda
- Live a hypocritical lifestyle
- Rebellious
- Operating in selfishness
- Doing things for your glory instead of God’s glory
- Believe you’re better than everyone else at what you do (mistaking cockiness for confidence)
- Believe you’re right about everything
- Too stubborn to ask others for help
- More concerned about your reputation than your character
- Never apologize
- Possess an unteachable spirit
- Disrespect and demean others
- Want to be served rather than to serve
- Bragging about what you have and what you do~being a show off
- Lack of prayer and praise time with God
These are all subtle signs that you’re operating in PRIDE. If any of these signs represent you as they have myself many times- you need to repent. Ask God to forgive you for operating in pride and to give you a heart of humility. Humility says “I am NOTHING without God and I can do NOTHING without God.” After we ask God to forgive us and change us, we need to put some safeguards in place to prevent ourselves from giving into pride.
Safeguards For Pride…
- SUBMISSION
- SERVANTHOOD
Submission and servanthood are safeguards for pride. We need to daily submit to God. We need to humble ourselves under His mighty hand. We must understand that it’s with/through Him that all things are made possible. All the glory belongs to Him. Submit to His Will and Way. Stop focusing on “I” and focus on Jesus! Humble yourself before God has to humble you (Isaiah 2:11). Less of me and more of You, God! Then start serving others. Great leaders serve! Get the focus off yourself and off of what others can do for you. See what you can do to be a blessing to someone. Submission and servanthood are all traits of the humbled. Humbled people know they aren’t better than anyone else and that they’re only here by the grace of God. Humbled people don’t exalt themselves, they exalt the Lord. Living prideful is living dangerous. No one wants to be opposed by God, head for destruction and end in a great fall. So sit down, be humbled! Don’t experience The Danger of PRIDE.
