Just as a small child is quiet with his mother

I hid the smile that spread across my face while listening to the group of teenage boys boasting about their athletic prowess.  Had I not known them, I might have concluded that they were ready to step from high school onto a field of professionals.  They ‘knew’ every move, hit every shot, and were the envy of the team- by their own telling.  What is it that we say, “A legend in his own mind.”?   It’s not just teens who fall into that trap. Pride is one of the foibles of humans – male, female, old, young.  When the sun is shining on us, we tend to think we made it rise! Oliver Wendell Holmes, a brilliant member of the US Supreme Court, was questioned by a reporter about his success in life. His response? "Young man, the secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered I was not God!"

Proverbs 16:18 cautions us with a warning- "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."   So, that peacock who struts around with finery on display is at risk of destruction? Yes, but that just the obvious kind of pride. Pride takes many disguises. In these hidden states, it is the more deadly, like a poison stirred into a cup of sweet juice.

Pride shows up as false humility - "Don't thank me; I didn't do a thing." Even while saying those words, the person knows how he knocked himself out to earn the compliment.  “Men-pleasers” is the Biblical term for this. This form of pride causes the person to take shortcuts, to do shoddy work, to be much more concerned with impressions created than reality.  It’s not really the work they love, it’s the praise!  Their shortcuts show up eventually in deformed character or failure in the mission. “Pride goes before destruction.”

Pride can show in an angry depression. The notion that we are too good to be experiencing the difficulty or pain of the moment fuels a terrible silent rage.  The deeper that person slips into self-obsession, the less he is able or willing to accept God's promised grace.  Cut off from the One who can heal, he turns to other things for 'peace' or soothing;  eating too much, spending lavishly, or indulging in sensuality.  “Pride goes before destruction.”

Pride finds a home in our spiritual service, too!  Yes, it is true. We can do the right things for the wrong reasons.  What is done in the ostensible service of God actually is being done with the hope that others will take note of our ‘deep commitment.’   Jesus condemned this, "Stop praying on the streets to be noticed by men. Go pray in your closet where God alone sees and hears!"  (Matthew 6:5)  This kind of pride is most offensive because it leads us to pretend to be what we are not even as we are standing before the One who knows us heart deep!  It turns us into hypocrites who sing songs they do not mean and pray prayers they never want to be answered. He removes His blessings. “Pride goes before destruction.”

Here is the word from the Word;  “And all of you, serve each other in humility, for "God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble." So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.” (1 Peter 5:5-6)

My prayer today -
"Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me.
But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother.
Yes, like a small child is my soul within me."  Amen (Psalm 131:1-2, NLT)

Struggling with pride today?
Don't hide it. Confess it. Tell a trusted friend about your struggle.
Ask for their prayer, perhaps even their forgiveness!

Lay down the need for praise in the Presence of God and repent with genuine desire for change.

He will forgive and restore. Praise Him!