For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar (Psalm 138:6, ESV).
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time (1 Peter 5:5,6).
All throughout Scripture, a theme resounds for those who have ears to hear. It contradicts human nature and our personal desires, offending our sensibilities.
However, it is necessary when coming before God for salvation. It seemed fitting at this time to discuss a core trait and prerequisite in the life of a Christian contradicting pride, and that trait is humility.
In our current cultural climate, there is a great leaning toward self, and with the focus on self comes pride, while humility is potentially looked down upon as weakness. Pride brings with it the belief that personal thoughts and convictions are supreme.
It is arrogant and self-serving. It exhibits selfish ambition and vain conceit, contradicting the command of humility and valuing others above self (Philippians 2:3). Without humility, we cannot know and learn God’s ways or be led by Him in His ways (Psalm 25:8-9).
Without humility, we cannot come into the kingdom of God. Without humility, we cannot understand the nature commanded of us in Scripture, and we cannot comprehend the humility Jesus Christ demonstrated in coming to save the lost.
One could say the antithesis of humility is pride, and it is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible. We all need that reminder because pride is quick to rise up in our flesh, even as believers in Christ.
The affinity to self and personal benefit is a desire we all possess. But when we put before us what God has to say on the matter, the desire to humble ourselves before God and before others so that He can be glorified comes with grace.
God’s Way of Humility
Merriam Webster defines humility as “freedom from pride and arrogance.” That sounds like freedom from bondage or captivity, doesn’t it? Psalm 149:4 says, “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.”
Humility is a hallmark attribute of the believer in Christ. According to this author, “The Bible describes humility as meekness, lowliness, and absence of self…When we come to Christ as sinners, we must come in humility. We acknowledge that we are paupers and beggars who come with nothing to offer Him but our sin and our need for salvation. We recognize our lack of merit and our complete inability to save ourselves.”
We understand the way of humility from Christ Himself. In the Book of Philippians, Paul explains to the believers at Philippi the humility shown by Jesus Christ and that this model of humility in serving others is how a believer is to conduct themselves.
As Jesus came to serve, we are to follow this example. Just as Jesus was obedient to the Father, we are to also obey God the Father and His Word. We are not to be selfish in our ways. By obeying God in this way and others, we demonstrate we belong to Him.
The Word of God also tells us that the way of humility leads to God exalting those who are His (Luke 18:14; James 4:10) rather than exalting the self. In the words of an anonymous writer, “Pride is about my glory; humility is about God’s glory.”
Why Is Pride Sinful?
As we can deduce from the last statement, pride centers on the self. It seeks its own way, and truth be told, pride is agreeing with the nature of Satan. We know from Scripture that Satan has and continues to pursue his own exaltation (Isaiah 14:12-14).
Pride is in complete contradiction to the very nature we are to exhibit as Christians, and this in itself leads to rebellion against God. We know that rebellion began in the garden, and we know that the serpent was also in the garden contributing to this sin against God.
What many may not consider is that sin is ultimately against a holy God, and pride falls into this category. It is one of the things God hates the most, as we see in Proverbs 18:13, “The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”
According to this author, “Why is pride so sinful? Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves. Pride is essentially self-worship. Anything we accomplish in this world would not have been possible were it not for God enabling and sustaining us.”
This is the danger in pride because with it comes the way of thinking that our way is better than God’s way. By thinking this way, we attempt to make ourselves god-like. But His ways are not our ways.
In 1 John 2:16, we read of the pride of life along with the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh. The pride in life is a worldly way, and it hearkens to the belief of worldly wisdom and personal insight being supreme.
Why Does This Matter?
We can see this in many areas of the world today. It is easy to be prideful and puffed up with conceit in thinking our understanding and our way is right.
We want to oversee our decisions and our way of life, and many people desire this without acknowledging God’s instruction and His ways.
However, those who are in Christ do not have this luxury. We are to obey His instruction found in His Word, and He instructs us to be humble, to think of others more highly than ourselves, and to remember the life we have is not our own. We were bought at a price, and we are to glorify God in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).
By obeying the Lord’s instructions, we show to whom we belong. Being prideful does not originate from God. It is worldly and antagonistic to God.
We can take comfort in John’s words, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).
As the world celebrates pride, believers in Christ are to model humility, and we do this by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We tell others the good news.
Pride kills. Sin kills. But God sent His Son to satisfy God’s wrath against sin so that we could be reconciled to God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement for our sin.
It is said that humility thinks less of self and more of others. When we share the truth of the gospel and of the Word of God, we display humility, loving others enough to tell them the truth.
For further reading:
Why Is Humility Seen as Weakness?
Why Is the Gift of Humility Important in the Life of the Christian?
Does Pride Really Go Before the Fall?
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