PRIDE AND HUMILITY
by Rita Langeland
© 2002 Hidden With Christ Ministries
Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines the word proud as “showing oneself above others, or preeminent.” Hayford’s Bible Handbook defines the word pride as “arrogance, and holding a disdainful attitude toward others.” J. Oswald Sanders said, “Pride is the sin of whose presence the victim is least conscious. But nothing is more distasteful to God than self-conceit. This first and fundamental sin in essence aims at enthroning SELF at the expense of God.”
We know from the Word of God that pride causes God to resist a person. Whether that resistance comes in the way of unanswered prayer or a lack of divine intervention in a time of need, PRIDE will act like a barrier preventing you from receiving from God the very blessings He longs to pour into your life. Humility of heart on the other hand, opens the door to receive God’s grace in your life. The words “humble” and “humility” are derived from a Greek word that means “not rising far from the ground.” The idea implied here is one of the opposite of exalting oneself. It implies having a modest opinion of oneself and a lack of haughtiness in attitude toward others.
Andrew Murray once said, “Humility is recognizing who God is, and who you are not.” Both PRIDE and HUMILITY have distinct manifestations in people’s lives. PRIDE will cause you to take credit for things that have actually come to you from God while HUMILITY acknowledges God as the provider.
Often people who have experienced great material blessings or have been given respected positions in life will fall into the sin of pride thinking somehow it is due to their own greatness that they have achieved such status. But the Bible corrects this deception. In the 18th chapter of Deuteronomy we find these words:
Beware lest you forget the Lord your God...lest, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your...silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart becomes PROUD and you forget the Lord your God...Otherwise you may say in your heart, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.” But you shall surely remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth… (NASB)
Even the ability to make great sums of money comes from God. If God removed that ability from an individual, his or her money would eventually disappear. People who do not recognize the truth of this will fall into PRIDE and end up being resisted by God. If there is one position in which you never want to find yourself, it is the place where God is resisting you. If you will repent of PRIDE, God will forgive you and restore you and His grace will begin to flow in your life. The story of King Nebuchadnezzar found in the Book of Daniel depicts this truth quite graphically. Nebuchadnezzar had both material riches and exalted status in his life and he became very prideful about it. Daniel 4:28-33 tells the story:
All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon. The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you. And you will be driven from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes.”
Pride had caused Nebuchadnezzar to take credit for things that had come to him from God. As a result of that sin, he lost everything. God, who had given this king his position in life, resisted him in his prideful state. But when he repented and humbled himself before the Lord, God restored both his position and his wealth. The king summed it up this way in Daniel 4:37:
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt and honor the God of heaven for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
PRIDE takes credit for individual giftings, while HUMILITY recognizes that all gifts come from God.
Through the grace of God we have different gifts. (Romans 12:6 - J. B. Phillips translation)
Pride will cause a person to be “puffed up” about their talents or abilities. Real humility does not deny ability or falsely claim insignificance as this would be unscriptural. But it does recognize the truth in Jesus’ words in John 15:5: ...apart from Me you can do nothing...
as well as Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
God has created each person with significance and with individual gifts. This is not a fact that we should take pride in, instead it is something for which we should praise and honor God. How can you take pride in something you received as a gift? Your ability or talent is not something you achieved in your own strength, it was a gift given to you by God. We need to honor God for what He has done in our lives and in the lives of other people, acknowledging that it all comes from Him.
One of the most outstanding examples of a highly gifted yet very humble person is the inventor of the telegraph, Samuel Morse. Though he had received many honors as a result of his phenomenal invention, he had a very scriptural and humble attitude about it. He said, “I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men, but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me.”
Many have wondered how a highly gifted person can maintain a humble heart. Like Samuel Morse, remembering the source of all giftings will keep your attitude in line with the reality found in God’s Word and be a protection for you against pride.
Pride causes people to demand honor from others and to become angry if this is not given. Naaman, the Syrian military commander almost lost his opportunity to be healed of leprosy because of pride. He was angry that the prophet Elisha did not honor him by coming out to see him personally and heal him. Instead Elisha sent him instructions through his servant to dip in the Jordan River seven times. This offended Naaman’s pride and he left angrily. If his own servant had been unable to convince him to do as the prophet had instructed, Naaman most certainly would have remained a leper.
Humble people don’t elevate themselves above others in their own estimation, so they are not expecting to be held in higher esteem than anyone else. They are not offended if they are not honored by people, even if deserving of honor. If you are easily offended when overlooked or passed over for promotion or other types of recognition, you need to understand that PRIDE is at the root of that offense. Don’t defend such an attitude in your life by pointing out the failure of the other party to treat you with respect, instead repent of the pride in your own heart. Remember that Jesus said that the “pure in heart” would see God. To “see” God we must have a heart that is free from PRIDE. The great songwriter Isaac Watts wrote in these famed lyrics, that in comparison to the cross, all our achievements are nothing.
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Ask the Lord to reveal any area of PRIDE in your life, because it stands as a barrier between you and the grace of God.
This message is available on CD.
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