by We all know how easy it is to innocently look prideful. President Ronald Reagan wrote about a speech he gave in Mexico City:
“After I had finished speaking, I sat down to rather unenthusiastic applause, and I was a little embarrassed. The speaker who followed me spoke in Spanish—which I don’t understand—and he was being applauded at almost every paragraph. Well, to hide my embarrassment, I started clapping when he spoke—before everyone else and longer than anyone else—until our ambassador leaned over and said, ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Mr. Reagan. You see, that man is interpreting your speech.’“
We understand that there is good and bad pride. Good pride is healthy self-respect, dignity, satisfaction in a job well done, a joy in seeing others succeed like our children. However, pride is never used this way in the Bible. It is defined as conceit, an attitude of superiority, a sinful boasting (Proverbs 16:6; 21:4). God hates this pride and calls it an abomination in Proverbs 6:16-19. Reading these verses in Proverbs, all of us in some way or another are guilty of sinful pride.
Sinful pride makes man think he is more important than God, exactly what led Satan to fall (Isaiah 14:13-14). It was this pride that Satan used to convince Adam and Eve that if they ate the forbidden fruit, they too could become equal with God, that is, they would become more important than God!
Pride is one of the biggest barriers in people receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their healthy pride spills over to unhealthy pride where they feel they are more important than God. The unsaved have no need for God. As with Satan, they have exalted themselves above the heights of the clouds (Isaiah 14:13). God is the last thing on their minds because they have exalted themselves so high above Him. Sadly, the saved by their actions say the exact same thing! By not being in church when they are able, not praying until every option is exhausted, not witnessing every place they go. This sinful pride makes them more important than God!
However, in every generation, God has remnant of His people who have purposed to humble themselves in His presence. Let this people be us as we enter the New Year. Let’s humbly stand as faithful and devoted members of our church. It is this humility that paves the future of our church.
