Sin Of Pride (Part 4)

(Read Sin Of Pride, Part 1 First)

Sin Of Pride - How It Manifests Itself In Our Lives
Here are some of the ways the sin of pride might manifest itself in your life. We've already seen from the lives of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar how pride can simply be an over-estimation of one's ability or even one's security. It can also be an over-estimation of one's righteousness or overall self-worth. For example, if you happen to think that you're worth more to God than some other person, you've fallen victim to the sin of pride. It's distorted your view of reality, because the truth of the matter is, "there is no partiality with God,"¹ "nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands."² Or if on the other hand you have a habit of looking down on others because you think you're more righteous than they are, consider the parable which Jesus gave to those "who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else:"³

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."⁴

Sin Of Pride - Looking Down On Others
If you look down on others because you surpass them in virtue, knowledge, skill, wealth, or for any reason at all, you have fallen victim to the sin of pride. And not only that, you have, like Belshazzar, insulted the Creator Himself. For "he who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker."⁵

What gives you the right to look down on others? And why would you boast of your skills or abilities? "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"⁶ Be careful not to take credit for God's work in your life. "Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."⁷ Never presume to say to yourself, "My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth,"⁸ but instead, "remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth."⁹ He is "the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways."¹⁰

It was God who gave you your natural skills and abilities, and he didn't do it so that you can despise others. Believe it or not, God gave you your skills and abilities so that you can serve others. That's the kind of Person He is and that's what He wants from us: for us to love each other. He Himself came, not to be served but to serve. Jesus taught, "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."¹¹

Sin Of Pride - Love One Another
God despises the sin of pride especially because it's totally contrary to His purposes for us. He wants us to live by His example and to serve each other in love. And He's given us the most beautiful example. Not only did He die for us, He lives for us as well. The Apostle John tells the story how one night Jesus "rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. …So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.'"¹²

Therefore, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"¹³ "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."¹⁴

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Footnotes:

1. Romans 2:11; cf. Deuteronomy 10:17; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Acts 10:34-35; Ephesians 6:9
2. Job 34:19
3. Luke 18:9 (CEV)
4. Luke 18:9-14
5. Proverbs 17:5; cf. Proverbs 14:31
6. 1 Corinthians 4:7
7. Psalm 100:3
8. Deuteronomy 8:17
9. Deuteronomy 8:18
10. Daniel 5:23
11. Matthew 20:25-28; cf. Mark 10:42-45
12. John 13:3-5, 12-17
13. Philippians 2:3-8 (NIV)
14. 1 John 4:11