PRIDE: The Monster Within

If there is one sin in which all of us share, it is pride. We all have some degree of pride and vanity, and Satan knows it. Pride is one of our biggest pitfalls. It causes many to not turn to God and or to turn away from God. We might not even be aware of how it manifests itself in our lives. It can range from stubbornness to claiming to be equal to God. The danger is that it causes God to be against us: “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble,’” (James 4:6, NASB). Selfish pride inevitably leads to disregard, disrespect and disobedience to God. This is at the heart of the warning from Solomon: “Pride goes before destruction,” (Proverbs 16:18, NASB).

We’ve all seen the ugliness of pride and the damaging results in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We have to combat this so we don’t allow Satan an inroad into our lives. In the “whole armor of God” many of the elements are defensive in nature. In addition to going on the offense, we have to also protect ourselves. Recognizing selfish pride, removing it, and turning our lives over to God helps us do this.

~ Jeff