The Price of a Prideful Heart

“You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” 1 Peter 5:5-6

All sin has its root in pride. We can trace it back to the Garden of Eden where Eve, desiring to know as much as God, accepted a prideful token from Satan. Not only did she disobey God, she urged her husband to follow in close pursuit.

The sinfulness of pride weaves a tangled web of lust, greed, and deception on throughout history. Valiant warriors are brought to their knees. Pride of self-strength derails kings and their kingdoms. Men of God forsake the purity of worship while opting for the pride of keeping the letter of the law. Mankind appears bent on proving to God that He is wrong and we, in our human intelligence, are right.

Sometimes we buy into the lie that we are an exception to God’s moral code. That is where the craftiness of Satan’s deception does its best work. Very rarely does the voice of pride shout its intentions. Instead, it whispers stroking comments that ease the instability of our self-esteem. It tells us we are wonderful, exciting, handsome, bright, witty, and popular. It tells us that God would be nothing without us. How deceptive is pride? So much so that it prays along with the pharisee in Luke 18:11: “God, I thank You that I am not like [these] other people...”

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” Proverbs 16:18