Avoiding the Pitfall of Pride
By Emily Rose Massey
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).
I am no stranger to the stage. By the age of 4, I had my first dance recital, tapping away in my red polka dot ruffled dress with a big matching sequin bow, à la Shirley Temple. In high school, I belted out “Suddenly Seymour” as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. By the time I was in college, I had begun working toward my BA in Theater and Dance Performance and had performed in dozens of plays and musicals. I even worked for the Walt Disney Company as a performer at various events in St. Louis, opening for the Jonas Brothers and Raven Simone. Senior year I set it in my heart to move to Los Angeles to become a “famous actress.” But, thankfully, God had other plans.
A few months after college graduation, the Lord met me in my pig pen, where I had wasted many years of my life living for me, myself, and I. He brought this prideful soul to the end of herself and opened my eyes to my desperate need for Christ. I repented of my sin and rebellion and surrendered my life to Christ. That was fifteen years ago this summer, and I have not looked back. Although I’m still on stage to some degree, I now use my gifts to glorify God as I sing on stage with my worship team at church on Sunday mornings. My view of the stage has completely changed, of course, yet I know I am not immune from prideful thoughts. I constantly ask the Lord to search my heart because I know how quickly any of us can step into pride or boast in our own abilities.
The book of Proverbs brings much wisdom to believers, and the topic of pride is often highlighted. We see in Proverbs 16 what happens to those who walk in pride:
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (18, ESV).
Pride brings destruction and a falling away from God’s perfect ways, causing chaos and confusion. If we are putting our trust in everything or anyone (including ourselves) but the Lord, we will constantly be disappointed and led astray and into sin. We must trust the Lord with all of our hearts, which should never be filled with more of this world or fleshly desires than God’s Word.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Like I mentioned earlier, none of us are immune from being tempted by the sin of pride; It comes very naturally to us as humans. Humility is the solution to our human pride. Humility is truly a gift from the Father. As humans, just like the fruit of the Spirit, it is difficult to walk continually in this godly trait. We need God’s help, His grace. To be granted His heavenly grace gifts, we must become humble before the throne of God. When we think we can control our life better than God, we will eventually fail. We must acknowledge our prideful, self-reliant ways if we want to experience the sustaining and empowering grace of God. Jesus did not consider equality with the Father a thing to be grasped and emptied Himself of all privileges; He humbled Himself even to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. We should long to reflect selflessness to the world, but for us to do that, we need to walk in humility and put our trust in God alone. Asking our brothers and sisters in the Lord to hold us accountable in this area is also helpful. We often have blind spots, like pride, that keep us from seeing where we may be straying away from God’s best for us. To avoid that destruction and fall, our brothers and sisters can warn us and help us stay on the right path- the path of humility and righteousness.
Further Reading:
Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!
Related Resource: How Habit Stacking Will Help You Discipline Your Mind, Body, & Spirit
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