Seven Symptoms Of A Prideful Heart
Pride is universalsomething we all deal with, as ancient as Adam and as relevant as the morning news. Yet we dont always see our own pride, which weaves like weeds around our lives.
Oh, we see it in the obvious ways, but we can be blind to its deceptive, subversive way in our hearts. We know the disease, but we dont recognize the symptoms. And thats why we need the insight of our spiritual Great Physician to reveal symptoms of pride and rescue us from it.
God Despises A Proud Heart
There is an outward expression of pride and an inward expression of pride that no one knows about. God knows the thoughts of the arrogant and He despises them. This is really scary because you dont have to be someone who is constantly boasting or openly flaunting yourself. God sees the pride that other people dont see and obviously it is the inward pride that brings out outward expressions of pride.
I believe being prideful in heart is something we all struggle with. We might not say anything, but inside there might be a little struggle of wanting to be seen, being selfish, wanting a bigger name, wanting to show off, etc. God hates that and it disgusts Him. For those in Christ who struggle with this like me we must acknowledge that we struggle with this. We must pray for more of Gods grace. There is pride in all believers and pride is at war with the spirit of humility.
The proud that God is referring to in Proverbs 16:5 will not even acknowledge that they are proud, they wont repent, they wont seek help. God lets us know in this passage that the proud are not saved. They are an abomination to Him. Praise be to Jesus Christ, not only for saving us from this sin and others, but praise Him because through Him we are able to make war with this sin.
16. Proverbs 16:5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.
Curing The Prideful Heart
What is the cure for the prideful heart? Begin by confessing, or admitting, to God that you struggle with the sin of pride. Confession is agreeing with God that what you have done is wrong. You might pray a simple prayer similar to this one:
Dear Heavenly Father, I confess to you that I struggle with the sin of pride in my heart and my life. This pride leads me to act out selfish desires and is hurtful to other people. I ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to change my heart so that I become selfless and learn to serve others as I consider them before myself. Thank You for the forgiveness that is mine through the Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray these things for Your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
The next step is to begin to practice humility, a denial of self. It is considering others better than yourself and requires an examination through the Word of God of the actions and attitudes of daily life.
Then He said to the crowd, If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process? Luke 9:23-25
You should be known for the beauty that comes from , the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.1 Peter 3:4
Here are some suggestions to begin to serve others:
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The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit – O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. Psalm 51:17
God is not after your perfect behavior. He is after a humble spirit and a contrite heart. I looked up what the word contrite meant and it said, repentant or remorseful. When my wife and I read the list and saw ourselves on it in some places, we immediately pleaded with God to help us keep our pride down and be more humble. We dont want it at all and we are really sorry that we have been so prideful for so long. And now we question ourselves all the time, Is what Im about to say or what I just said, prideful? Because we really dont want to be prideful, even though we still act pridefully. But a lot less. This is exactly what God wants from us. A humble spirit and a contrite heart.
“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'” Isaiah 57:15
Types Of Pride In The Bible
In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever .
There are two basic types of pride in the Bible, legitimate and sinful.
The first swells from an appreciation of Gods character and faithful action in our lives. Many of the Psalms praise God for His protection, provision, answer to prayer , and unfailing love. When all else falters and fades away, He remains. Galatians 6:14 says, May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul credited his integrity to Christ, boasting in a clear, Christ-led conscience. We can boast about what God, through Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is doing through us with what He put in and activated in His time according to His will. Philippians 2:16 says, as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. Legitimate, godly pride has nothing to do with ourselves.
1 Corinthians 4:7 states, For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Our sinful pride tempts us to be self-sufficient rather than God reliant.
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Verses On Pride In Possessions
1 John 2:15-17 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. For all that is in the worldthe desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessionsis not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Psalm 10:3-4 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him all his thoughts are, There is no God.
Proverbs 16:19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.
1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
Three Traits Of A Prideful Person
The American airwaves are awash with crime drama television shows.
No matter what night it is, you can flip through the channels on your TV and find either new crime dramas or reruns of old favorites. One crime drama show recently tried to capitalize on a relatively new area of scientific study. The show Lie to Me featured a private detective firm that solved crimes by studying micro expressions and body language. The science behind the show is rather amazing. Detectives read a persons feelings by the subconscious and uncontrollable reactions of the body.
Just like physical posture gives us insight into the emotional life of an individual, so a persons posture in prayer gives us deep insight into their spiritual lives. And ultimately, the body language of a persons heart is intimately connected with their acceptance before God. This truth we learn from one of Jesus parables in Luke 18:9-14 where he seeks to answer an important question: Who then is accepted before God?
The tax collector, standing far off, had a very different posture. He would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast. The tax collector feels the guilt of his sin before God to the point of not even wanting to look up to heaven. And his prayer is simple. He says in verse 13, God, be merciful to me, a sinner!
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Consider Others More Important
This is the command that Paul gave in Philippians 2, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
No one is more valuable than anyone else. You dont deserve more grace than someone else. That is contradictory to the nature of grace it is a gift that is given to those who dont deserve it.
How often do you go out of your way to serve your brothers and sisters? Do you carry one anothers burdens?
Satan Fell Because Of Pride
Pride always goes before a fall. There are many pastors who fall into egregious sin and they were the same pastors who said, I would never commit that sin. I would never commit adultery. Then, they start thinking that they are spiritual enough to do certain things, they dont have to obey, they can add to Gods word, they put themselves in a position to sin, and they end up falling into sin.
We must say, by the grace of God may I never commit that sin. God gives us the grace and the wisdom so we dont fall into traps from Satan, but pride stops you from thinking clearly. You are too stubborn to admit guilt, think lowly of yourself, to switch directions, etc. Satan was Gods top angel, but he became haughty because of his beauty. It was his pride that led to his destruction. Your pride is going to end up humbling you.
For example, its humiliating for an arrogant known trash talker to lose in sports. You were high before, but now you feel low because you are sitting in shame thinking about your arrogant antics. You are humiliated in front of the world. Imagine a great boxing champion who insults his opponent and before the match starts he tells his fans to chant his name, but then he gets beat down.
1. Ezekiel 28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.
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The Remedy For Haughty Eyes And A Proud Heart
There is something we often forget about pride, its that haughty eyes are what wrecked heaven. It was Lucifers arrogance that thought he deserved to be the one seated on the throne. That did not end so well for Lucifer. Any time we act with a proud heart we are acting like Satan himself. Maybe this is why God hates it so much. The simple truth about haughty eyes and a proud heart is either you will humble yourself or God will do it for you. I am quite sure you would agree that it is a lot better when you humble yourself. The best way to do that is to always view yourself and others in the right perspective. Let these two verses be a reminder of how to keep pride out of our hearts.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3
Do nothing from factional motives or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself .
Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not his own interests, but also each for the interests of others. Let this same attitude and purpose and mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:3-5
What Does The Bible Say About Pride
Pride is one of those sins that we throw under the rug. We consider homosexuality evil, murder evil, but when it comes to pride we overlook it. We have forgotten that it was the sin of pride that got Satan kicked out of Heaven. We have forgotten that God says He hates a proud heart.
This is something I really struggle with. Many people think I am not arrogant or prideful, but people dont know the battle that I struggle with inside my mind.
I am far from humble and day after day I have to keep on going to the Lord about this. Every day the Holy Spirit is helping me to examine what are my motives for doing even the most meaningless things.
You can give, you can help, you can read to disabled kids, you can do the kindest acts, but do you do it with pride? Do you do it to be the man? Do you do it to be seen as nice? Even though you conceal it do you hope people see you?
Do you look down upon others? If you did would you admit that you struggle with looking down upon others? Is everything and everyone a competition to you?
Do you think that you are better than others or entitled to more than others because of how smart you, how you look, what you own, how much you make, your achievements, etc.
We can struggle with pride in so many different ways and never notice it. Do you always want to be right? Do you defend the Bible with love or do you just do it to win a debate? Would you be quick to admit that youre wrong?
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What Is Pride According To The Bible
The Living Word of God describes pride as the thing that precedes destruction, just as a haughty spirit goes before fall .
However, note that self-directed pride that stems from conceit and outward pride pointed at the efforts or accomplishments of others are two completely different things from the Lords perspective.
We already know that self-centered pride is cast in a very negative light in the Bible, especially in the book Proverbs due to one obvious reason God hates it.
But we have to consider examples of outward pride such as 2 Corinthians 7:4 ESV, where Apostle Paul writes I have great pride in you in regards to being encouraged by good news from the church in Corinth.
Notice that Pauls pride or reason to be boastful in this case is not himself but someone else, in this case the Corinthian Christians.
This Bible verse indicates that God specifically hates sinful pride thats self-righteous in nature and all about exalting yourself above others.
Scripture doesnt condemn being proud of someone elses accomplishments, we can also be proud to be part of Gods Kingdom and we can even take pride in the good works of the Lord.
Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:17 ESV:
Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
The One Who created everything is our reason to boast because apart from Jesus we can do nothing .
However, the line is drawn when pride becomes self-oriented i.e. all about me and only me.
Ways Christians Can Recognize Pride In Their Lives
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus .
We know the disease,Jaquelle Crowe writes, but we dont recognize the symptoms. And thats why we need the insight of our Great Physician and to reveal its symptoms and release us from its grip. She warns of the following signs: fear, entitlement, ingratitude, people-pleasing, prayerlessness, hypocrisy and rebellion. Faith, a gift from God, kills pride. Faith, by nature, looks away from ourselves. We can recognize pride by staying connected to Christ. Through prayer and study of Gods word, the Holy Spirit will alert and convict us to the chains of sin in our lives, and walk us through the steps of sanctification to breaks us free. But we have to have ears to hear, and the gumption to follow His lead.
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All Of Our Gifts Are God
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 1 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
Think about it, have you attained any of your gifts, mercies and blessings by yourself?
Let me help you no, because only our Creator is capable of blessing us both physically and spiritually.
We have absolutely no reason to be boastful, no matter how physically beautiful or spiritually mature we might be.
Verses On The Consequences Of Pride
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Revelation 3:16-17 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Psalm 101:5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.
Proverbs 29:23 Ones pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Isaiah 2:11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 23:9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
Isaiah 2:12 For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted upand it shall be brought low
Isaiah 13:11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
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