Friday, February 18, 2011

Pride - Part I

Sinful pride is an inflated self-esteem and superior attitude that treats God and others with rudeness and disrespect.   Pride seeks personal glory, praise and applause from others and becomes distressed and angry when the praise is lacking or withheld.   Sinful pride refuses to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over one’s life.
Pride, haughtiness, arrogance, conceit, inordinate self-esteem, vanity and selfishness are as common as the air we breathe.   The sin of pride is responsible for so much of the confusion, sorrow, heartache, and tragedy in our world today.
Pride leads the list of the seven deadly sins that are fatal to spiritual progress, which are: pride, covetousness, lust anger, gluttony, envy and slothfulness.   
The scriptures also give pride the place of preeminence in these verses found in Prov. 6:16-19; “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”
Yes, pride is a sin, a wicked sin.  “God resist the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6
Also, God’s Word describes pride as being the source of contention among people: “Only by pride comes contention…….He that is of a proud heart stirs up strife…” Prov. 13:10, 28:25
We must understand and receive God’s Word, He hates the proud in heart, they are an abomination to Him.  Every proud person will be brought down.   
The scriptures not only abound with references which show the Lord’s hatred of this sin, but they also describe a proud, haughty, conceited, vain, boastful person as being a child of Satan.  
Why?   Because when Satan was in heaven as the highest created being in the universe, known as Lucifer, the head angel, worshipper, his heart was lifted up in pride and he fell to become Satan, the deceiver.   Ever since that moment of haughtiness when Satan’s heart was lifted up with pride, he has sought to deceive angels and men with the same form of iniquity.

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