Overcoming Pride
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Do you have a lot of pride?
If you do, you are not alone. One of the biggest challenges for most men is the issue of pride.
Pride Is Not Good
The Bible makes it clear that pride is not a good thing. Proverbs 11:2 states, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” This is said in a different way in Proverbs 16:18, where it states, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
The Bible makes it clear that pride is not a good thing at all. In fact, it makes it clear that pride actually acts contrary to one’s goal. Proverbs 11:2 explains that when pride comes, then disgrace occurs. Instead of lifting a person up, it actually tears them down. This idea is reiterated in Proverbs 29:23, where it states that pride brings a person low. Again, instead of giving you a reason to feel good, it tears you down.
Have you been in a situation where your pride actually caused you more harm than good?
God Resists the Proud
There is one primary goal for every believer, and that is to get closer to God. However, your pride pulls you further away from Him. James 4:6 states, “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” If your goal is to get closer to God, then this verse makes it clear that your pride is only going to draw you further away.
This again supports the ideas that are taught in the Proverbs above. Instead of lifting you up, giving you a greater feeling of self-worth, pride actually leads you to disgrace, destruction, and a low spirit. It pulls you further away from God, taking away from your true position in life.
Do you feel like your pride has been a barrier in your relationship with God?
If so, are you ready to repent of that pride, turning it over to God?
The Source of Pride
You have already had a class on resolving conflicts with your brothers. This class taught you the three primary reasons for conflict, which included: fear, lust, and pride. The truth of the matter is that your pride is the source of lots of problems that you have. It is not just creating conflict, but is often hurting your relationships, giving you a false sense of success, and pulling you away from the things and people that can help you to be more successful. In essence, it is destroying you.
Pride can be a very tricky thing. It is not easy to put your finger on the reason why you would be so prideful about something. For example, a person can battle addiction for decades, never seeming to find the solution on how to overcome this addiction. However, their pride rises up, not allowing them to accept help so that they can overcome the addication. The person knows he needs to stop, but is unwilling to accept someone else’s help.
Have you found yourself in a situation where your pride barred you from accepting the help of others?
James 4:1-5 explains a lot about pride. Here it reads, “1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?’”
As mentioned, you just learned a great deal about conflict, and these verses explain why conflicts occur. However, they also explain, at the root of these conflicts, there is your pride. It is your passions and desires that lead you to battle with your brother, even commit murder. It is your coveting, your demand that you have something that leads to fights and quarrels. It is because you want something to feed your flesh, so you do not receive it. It is the fueling of your flesh, allowing your pride to flourish so that your spirit will not prosper.
Are you like any of these descriptions here in James?
In reading these verses, it is so easy to see why God resists the proud. You may not think of these things as pride, but it is not a coincidence that verse 6 (which tells us that God resists the proud) occurs right after this description. All of these things are rooted in pride.
Can you explain how pride can be seen in such behaviors as murder, adultery, and stealing?
How to Defeat Pride
Every man has an issue with pride. All of us are hesitant to accept the criticism and suggestions of others. We get angry when people try to help us. We refuse to accept support when we are struggling. We fail to acknowledge when we are falling short. This is why pride constantly has victory.
Do you think your pride is standing in the way of your success?
Here is something that may be difficult for you to hear, but which you need to accept – you are not perfect. We may openly say that to others and feel like we often fall short, but our pride often tells us that we know better than others. Even when we know that our lives are spinning out of control and that we are failing miserably, we will still believe that our way is best.
Do you find that you agree with this last paragraph?
Why do you think that we are so resistant to listen to others even when we know that our ways don’t truly work?
We need a wake-up call. We need to acknowledge that our pride is not helping us. So, here are some ways that can assist you in getting to a better place in life.
Acknowledge That You Are Not God
The most fundamental reason that we do not set our pride aside is because we think we always know best. In essence, we are playing God.
Your ways do not work. God’s ways do. There is no embarrassment in accepting that fact. If you turn to God and accept that He has the solution, you are going to succeed. This is why the humble thrive. The humble person knows that God is far more powerful, more knowledgeable, and wiser than he or she will ever be. That person knows that God has the ultimate solution.
When you refuse to accept what God can do, you are playing God. It often starts with statements like this, “I know that God loves me and has a great plan, but…” The moment that the word “but” enters your mouth, everything you said before that became irrelevant.
Honestly, there is nothing wrong with accepting that you are not God. It does mean that you have to humble yourself, acknowledging that you are not the solution to all of your problems. However, when you accept God’s help, knowing He has great answers, then good things will occur.
Who do you think has the solution to your problems?
If you believe it is God, what is standing in the way of accepting His help?
Acknowledge That You Are Broken
Part of being humble and removing pride is acknowledging that you are broken. Again, there is no shame in this at all. Every human being since Adam and Eve has been broken. Every person has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Every person is born with a sin nature and every person has committed sins.
You are no different than everyone else. You are broken and need to acknowledge that fact. Do not let your pride dominate you but, instead, acknowledge that you fall short of the incredible standard that God has set. Again, no shame in that. Just acknowledge the truth.
Do you think you are broken?
Acknowledge That You Need Help
When something is broken, what is needed? The answer to that is somebody who can fix it. The same is true for you. You are broken and in need of help, and acknowledging that God is the solution to your problem is the next step in removing your pride.
A frequent point that is going to be made in this lesson is that there is no shame in acknowledging your shortcomings. There is no shame in acknowledging that you need God to help you. Every single person in the Bible (except Jesus) needed God’s help to succeed. When they turned away from God, they struggled. When they turned to God, they thrived. The same thing is true for you as well. When you acknowledge you need God’s help and are willing to accept it, you will thrive.
How can God help you with your challenges?
Will you let your pride get in the way of receiving God’s help?
Acknowledge You Need the Help of Others
This is one of the fundamental parts of Christianity that many will ignore. You need the help of others to succeed.
Now, some will say that all that they need is God to thrive. In the grand scheme of things, that statement is true. However, there are two primary reasons why God put billions of other people on the earth. The first is so that we can be of service to others. The second is so that they can be of service to us.
In Genesis 2:18, God declared, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” It is not good for you to be by yourself. It is not good for you to try to battle against Satan on your own. You will fail, and this is part of the reason why God wants you connected with other people.
In Luke 10, Jesus sent out 72 disciples to minister throughout the region. He sent them in pairs. Why do you think that was so?
There are actually several answers for this, but one of them is so that they could support each other. Never do you hear of the disciples going out on their own. Paul traveled with Timothy and Titus. Early on, Peter always traveled with John and later traveled by John Mark (who wrote the Gospel of Mark). We need each other to help us succeed.
Failing to acknowledge that fact is only feeding into the hands of Satan. He does not want you to have support. He does not want you depending upon your brothers to help you through your struggles. He wants you to battle him on your own.
A brother can be an extremely powerful ally. You learned in Proverbs 17:17, a brother is born for adversity. When you’re struggling, when you’re having challenges, when your pride is causing you to fail, you need brothers there to help you to defeat those challenges.
Do you believe that you need others to assist you?
What Does God Want for You?
Over the last 10 weeks, you have been asked this question in a variety of ways. At the heart of everything that you are learning, one of the primary questions you have been asked is what God wants from you?
No matter who you are, what your background may be, what sins and wrong acts you have committed, God still has a calling on your life. There is something or many somethings that God wants you to accomplish, and this is where your focus needs to be.
For many, they may not know what that calling is. That is perfectly okay. A person can still study the Bible, talk with God, spend time growing in their faith, maturing, and building good relationships. They can rely on the help of others, rely on the help of God, and acknowledge their brokenness, all while waiting on the calling of God.
God has plans for you. These four statements help you to defeat pride and come into alignment with that calling. They help you to have victory for your life so that you can have the life that God has in store for you.
Do you believe that your pride could stand in the way of the calling God has for you?
Are you ready to set aside your pride?
Are you ready to have victory over your pride?
Bible Passages for the Week:
Monday – Isaiah 2:12
Tuesday – James 4:10
Wednesday – Philippians 2:3
Thursday – Proverbs 8:13
Friday – Proverbs 13:10
Saturday – Pick a passage from Scripture that teaches you about pride.
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© 2024 Dr. Robert Pannier, Hope CDA, All Rights Reserved
