Charles Spurgeon said, “Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace,”
Men by nature are proud creatures that love to proclaim what we know and can do. Pride is the root of every sin and evil. God does more than hate pride. Pride is so offensive that God actually “resists the proud,” while, in contrast, He “gives grace to the humble”. A study published in the Academy of Management Journal shows that leaders who show humility are more influential and make better leaders than those who do not. The study also found that a leader’s humility is transmittable; in other words, humble leaders’ followers were much more gentle themselves.
Why is humility such a big deal to God? Because…
Pride defies God.
Pride leads the parade, and God hates it. Pride leads to calamity; Proverbs 16:18syas “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.” Pride is an attitude of independence from God. Thinking that we do not need God is one of the biggest mistakes we can make. It was pride that turned Lucifer, the son of the morning star, into Satan, the prince of the darkness. Satan—the arrogant being who started all of the evil we see in the world—is still “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). His goal is the utter destruction of every single human being in existence. The only way that we can prevent him from achieving that goal is to “submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8).
Pride defiles the very heart of man. (Mark 7:21-13).
Choosing to do my own will – living according to my own desires, reasoning, argument and selfishness – rather than God’s will is pride. Pride is effective because it is deceptive. The more you have, the less you think you have it. In fact, the proud person is often very proud of his humility. Humankind was made with a purpose—the purpose of becoming sons and daughters of God Himself (2 Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 2:10). Those who become children of God will be given awesome privileges and power. That power cannot go to just anybody. God will only give it to those He trusts to use it wisely. If He gave that power to someone as arrogant as the devil, the potential for evil and destruction would be unimaginable. Nothing brings more destruction to our nation, our homes, and our relationships than pride. It is vital that we learn the lesson of humility. Because Pride destroys, devastates and corrupts. No member of God’s family can afford to possess pride. God does not, and neither will His children.
Bishop Lalachan Abraham
