Overcoming Pride

Ann's heart pounded in her chest. Her palms were sweaty. She'd kept a secret from her husband, and he found out. Ann was relieved, to say the least. This secret had been eating at her for weeks. But she was too afraid to tell the truth. 

Problems sometimes get to that point, don't they? We allow them to tag along in our lives for so long that by the time we're finally ready to fess up, we've been exposed.  

Instead of confessing, Ann wallowed, her relationship with her husband suffered, and trust was severed. In short, Ann's pride got the best of her. Prideful thinking ruined a relationship with someone she loved and cared for deeply. 

What is Pride, Anyway?

As hard as it is to admit, pride is essentially an inflated ego. But more importantly, it's being pleased with ourselves, our accomplishments; it's putting ourselves first. In her book, Humble Roots, Hannah Anderson describes pride: 

But sometimes, pride can get tricky. Shouldn't we feel a sense of accomplishment when completing a project or mission? It feels good to work hard and receive a reward!

I do think this is a healthy attitude. When you've worked hard or accomplished a goal, feeling good about crossing the finish line is great! For the Christian, though, pride is looking to ourselves and not acknowledging God (or others who might have helped us!). It's saying that you can do everything yourself, and there's no reason to have God in your life. (Psalm 10:4) And when we believe we can have salvation apart from Christ, we are treading dangerous waters, friend. It can develop into the worship of the self. 

The Bible cautions us against the sin of pride:

Prideful Characters

Even though we often feel alone in our struggles, we can learn a lot about some characters of the Bible who wrestled with pride. King Nebuchadnezzar; Saul; the kings of Israel; King Herod, Pharaoh; and Adam and Eve, to name a few.

In the book of Daniel, we meet King Nebuchadnezzar, who worships other gods and tosses Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace for refusing to bow to his massive gold statue. Daniel even prophesies to King Nebuchadnezzar that God himself will bring destruction to him unless he recognizes the God of heaven and earth as the only real God. Many months pass, and one day while Nebuchadnezzar is bragging about his spectacular kingdom, his time has expired. God sends him to the wilderness to have the mind of a wild animal. 

Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden to become more like God and know the difference between good and evil. And this is the starting line for pride.

Both the Pharaoh of Egypt and King Herod, during the time of Christ's birth, declared themselves of the highest rule by initiating the execution of all baby boys. Ancient history tells us that both of these men deemed themselves god-like or, in Pharaoh's case, the Egyptians believed Pharaoh himself was a god. 

Christ Can Redeem

Thankfully, for those in Christ, we have a way out of our pride. Once we recognize that Jesus is Lord and he alone has overcome the sin in our lives, our boasting should come to a screeching halt. 

But it often doesn't. Pride is "the great sin" per C.S. Lewis, who says in his famous work, Mere Christianity:

We live in what theologians call the "now and not yet."  This means that though we have access to Christ's power and are fully redeemed by his blood, we still wrestle with the sins of the flesh because Christ has not yet returned to reclaim all of creation. Pride is one of those sins. 

Pride can overwhelm us greatly, but nothing is too great for God! The good news is that overcoming pride is possible with the help of Christ. Here are four ways to overcome pride when it arouses in your soul.

1. Remembering Who God Is

God is infinite. He created the Earth, space, time, and humanity. He is the creator. He has no beginning and no end. We are entirely dependent on him for everything. 

In her book, Free of Me, Sharon Hodde Miller writes that an antidote to a prideful heart is praise or better known as worship. She notes how praising God is good FOR us:

When you believe the best about yourself, thinking more highly of yourself than you should (which I do almost ALWAYS!), pause to remember who God is. Start by memorizing a Bible verse and give him praise. You are saved through grace by faith in Christ, from His sacrifice and love. Nothing we have done has earned us this favor; it's merely God's redeeming love for humanity. 

The Bible says God draws near to us when we praise him. (Psalm 22:3) Praising him for who he is and for the specific things he's done in your life, no matter how small, will help you remember how great he is!

2. Remember Others

This is what Jesus did. We should be concerning ourselves with the needs of others and continually looking outward instead of inward and sacrificing our wants for those that we think are less deserving.

Not only does pride break relationships with others, but it's harmful to ourselves and our walk with God. Our pride causes us to miss God and what he wants for us.

3. Remember That God Desires to Help Us

God showed his ultimate love for us by sending Christ, but his love doesn't stop there. 

In Genesis, the beginning of creation, God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. A perfect world, free from the taint of sin. This was God's ultimate plan - perfection, joy, peace. And yet it was all brought down by one bite.

When Christ died on the cross, he didn't just save us from our sin. 2 Corinthians says once we are saved,

We are free from the bondage of sin! While we can stand righteous before God, our sanctification, or becoming more like Christ, takes a little more time, but be patient with yourself. It's definitely not an overnight process!

Isaiah writes that God speaks to Israel:

Though God made this promise to Israel, he also is there when we need him, reaching out, ready to rescue us. We are never too far out of God's reach. 

God's desire and will for us is to become more like Christ, and this is why he's so desperate to help us overcome pride.

When we're not wholly devoted to God, we ignore how he wants to use us. We miss opportunities to serve in his kingdom because we're so absorbed with ourselves. Ultimately, all nations except his will fall. And when they do, where will we be rooted? 

If you find yourself scrolling through social media, searching for 'Likes' on your status to feed a need (I just had to put MY phone down!), or thinking you don't need to ask your spouses' thoughts or opinions, take a moment to pray and grab God's hand. He can gladly pull you out of that moment and make himself the focal point.

4. Don't Beat Yourself Up

Facing our sin is difficult. God knows this. He knows how difficult it can be to come face to face with our sins. 

However, when we complain about how awful we are, we're not doing any good. We're merely bringing more attention to ourselves!

In his book, The Art of Self-Forgetfulness, Pastor Tim Keller says this:

Conclusion

Scripture says much about pride; none of it's okay. Pride will poison, infect, rot, and bring about the destruction of people and relationships. It's dangerously powerful, and if left uncontrolled, it will destroy. God warns us continually throughout scripture as he warned Cain in Genesis:

Similar to the situation of Cain and Abel, pride is crouching at our door. It desires us. But it does not have the last word. God is always victorious, and he has already won the battle! When we lean into his goodness and realize his sovereignty and love for us, we respond with praise, which takes our eyes off us and onto him.

Begin by praying today and asking God to help you see areas of your life that tend to be prideful. Asking God for help is already an act of humility, so consider yourself on the right track!

Reach out to others closest to you and reveal your struggles while asking for prayer. This may be hard at first, but James 5:16 tells us to confess to each other. When we have others praying for us, we're coming up armed against an enemy to destroy the things that keep us separated from our loving Creator. 

Lastly, remember we have no condemnation when we are in Christ. Repeat this truth to yourself daily - because it reminds us that Christ alone is responsible for our salvation, and it is he whom we desire to be like.

Pride is a liar, but God is the truth. Overcoming pride is possible with God, and if we acknowledge and confess, he has no difficulty rescuing us in his great mercy and compassion. 

Grace and peace,

Alicia