There has always been a need among men for humility, for pride has been a prominent feature of man ever since the fall. It was pride that prompted Satan’s original rebellion against God, and an appeal to pride, at least in part, that Satan used to seduce Eve to disobey God. Thus we read in 1 Timothy 3:6 of one who is in danger of being “lifted up with pride,” and thus falls into “the condemnation of the devil.” So it is that pride is one of the roots of man’s original sin, and it has been rampant in the world since that time.
Forms of Pride
Our pride can take many forms. We can be occupied with ourselves either in a positive or in a negative way, yet pride can be the root of both. We may be taken up with ourselves, thinking how good we are, or alternately, we may think of ourselves as to how bad we are. While it is right to realize our true condition in the sight of God, He never occupies us with sin except to judge it. Constant occupation with our badness is not true humility, for pride can be nourished even by talking about how evil we are. More than this, pride can enter into spiritual things, for our sinful self is no better after we are saved than before. It is this spiritual pride that is perhaps the most serious.
In Proverbs 6:1717A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (Proverbs 6:17), we find that “a proud look” is at the head of a list of seven things that the Lord hates and that are “an abomination unto Him.” Why is it that pride is so serious in the sight of God, and why is it so hateful to Him? I would suggest that the main reason is that man’s pride takes the glory that belongs only to God and gives it to himself. The proper place of the creature is that of submission and obedience, while pride promotes rebellion and disobedience. Thus it is correct to say, in the light of God’s Word, that every form of pride is wrong and ought to be condemned.
Where the World Is Going
In these last days of God’s grace with this world, we see pride exemplified in at least two ways. First of all, the pride of the natural man and the world in general will no doubt reach its zenith during the tribulation period. Rebellion will be rife everywhere, and even in the presence of the unmistakable power of God, it is recorded in that time that men “gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds” (Rev. 16:10-1110And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. (Revelation 16:10‑11)). In view of all this, God has foretold that “in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers” (2 Tim. 3:12). In the larger sense, we are also told that we are to “behold the fig tree, and all the trees” (Luke 21:2929And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; (Luke 21:29)). While no doubt this will be fulfilled after the church is called home, yet we see the beginnings of it now. The fig tree represents Israel nationally, and all the trees would speak of other nations. Every ethnic group and race is demanding autonomy and insists on having its voice heard in the world scene. When I started university forty-five years ago, there were about 120 countries in the United Nations. Today there are more than 190, representing an average of well over one new country per year. Religious pride is often mixed with this and results in a fanaticism that frequently displays itself in acts of violence to support false religions, as well as nationalistic ambitions. While this situation may result from multiple causes and an interplay of economic and political forces, man’s pride is surely at the root of it all.
A Babylonian Attitude
In another and perhaps a more serious way, however, we are seeing pride among the people of God. We are at the end of a ruined dispensation, as far as man’s responsibility is concerned. What God gave at the beginning has been neglected, and man’s thoughts and actions have spoiled, in outward testimony, what God intended. If we take this to heart, we realize that our place is more than ever to be humbled before God, seeking His mind, and not pretending to be what we are not. Yet we find that, as always, the sin that is most prevalent in the world is that into which the church of God tends to fall. Having been delivered morally from Egypt, the church is liable to fall into a Babylonian attitude and the pride associated with it. This attitude is brought out in the address to Laodicea, in Revelation 3, where the Lord has to say to those who profess His name, “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:1717Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Revelation 3:17)).
Once again, this attitude will no doubt reach its height in the false church, which will continue to pretend to bear Christ’s name even after the true church has been called home. The false church actually is called Babylon, because of its pride and ultimate rebellion against God. Nevertheless, it is a voice to each one of us today, for the spirit of pride and self-sufficiency displays itself now.
Deterioration of Testimony
We may point the finger at others, but it is a solemn thing to remember that in the Old Testament, pride was perhaps most evident among those who were still worshipping at Jerusalem—at God’s center. More than this, as their testimony and power deteriorated, their pride seemed to increase in proportion. Thus we find Israel saying, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these” (Jer. 7:44Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. (Jeremiah 7:4)), just at the point when God was about to carry them away into captivity. Later, when the Lord in grace allowed a small number to come back from captivity and restore His worship in Jerusalem, their pride took the form of Pharisaism, and they ended up crucifying their Messiah.
We are liable to the same spirit in our day, and we must remember that the more God has given us, the more need there is of holding it in humility. If Christ is before us, there will be no problem, for we will be kept humble in constantly realizing how little we are like Him and how little we have walked in His ways. If we begin to look at others, however, then pride in ourselves will begin to puff us up, and then God is displeased with us.
The Right Reference Point
We see this attitude in the disciples, while our blessed Lord was on earth. While some of them were on the mount of transfiguration with Him, the other disciples were asked to heal a boy who was possessed with a demon, but they could not. Later, they disputed with one another as to who should be the greatest, and then John reports that they had seen one casting out demons in the Lord’s name. They forbad him, giving as the reason that “he followeth not us” (Mark 9:3838And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. (Mark 9:38)). The Lord rebuked this spirit, for no doubt the emphasis was on “us” and not on the Lord. Pride had come in, and here we find the ones who could not cast out a demon forbidding another who was evidently doing it, because he was not with them.
Later, the Lord Jesus puts the right emphasis on the subject when He says, “He that gathereth not with Me scattereth” (Luke 11:2323He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. (Luke 11:23)). Here the Lord is the reference point, and thus our desire should be to gather with Him, not with ourselves. In so doing we will be preserved from looseness, yet be kept from pride as well.
As the world grows darker, we will no doubt see man’s pride become worse, and among believers, too, there will be a tendency for pride, even if it is pride in what God has given us. How inappropriate it is in these days to boast of having done great things, just at the time when light from God has shown how little we really have done. No, humility is our place, yet confidence in God, who never leaves Himself without witness and who honors faith whenever it is exercised before Him.
W. J. Prost