One of the earliest and hardest lessons of ministry that I had to learn was in the area of pride. God allowed me to go through some very humbling experiences so that my pride would be broken and that I would be able to be used in a greater way for Him.
At the time it was one of the hardest things for me to endure but now I look back and see that it was one of the best things that could ever have happened to me..
Pride is something we all deal with at one time or another. If we don’t deal with it then we are for sure setting ourselves up for a fall. Even God’s Word promises teaches this principle.
Having said that, let’s examine are hearts and look at what God’s Word teaches us in regards to this heart attitude.
Let’s look at some of the prideful attitudes of some of the characters from God’s Word and see if we can identify with these men…
I like what Benjamin Franklin had to say concerning his own pride when he wrote his autobiography…”There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
Pharaoh:
“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the LORD? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2 NLT)
Pharaoh’s pride and self-confidence would not allow him to recognize that God was in control of his life and his kingdom. Pharaoh would not confess that there was a God greater than he because all of Egypt bowed before Pharaoh and he was considered as a god by his own people.
His pride and self-reliance got in the way of their finding God’s will.
Naaman
But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! (2 Kings 5:11 NLT)
Here was a man of power and position. He was the Captain, or commanding general if you will, of the Syrian Army. But, Naaman had a big problem. He was covered with leprosy.
Leprosy, as you may know, is a type of sin and, in the time of Naaman, there was no cure. In Naaman’s case I think the sin that was most prevalent in his life was the sin of pride. It covered him because of his power and position.
He became angry at the prophet of God for not coming out to him and only sending a servant. God was going to heal Naaman but it was going to come under God’s terms and not in the way that Naaman desired.
God knows how to get you off your high horse. It pays to remind ourselves that we are nothing without Jesus. It is God who must get the glory for our work, not us.
God often wants to bless his children but we are so caught up in our own ways that the blessings are blocked from reaching us. We cannot and will not receive the blessings of the Lord unless our pride is under control. And we cannot receive God’s blessings unless we allow God to move in his own time and in his own manner.
Uzziah
Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones. And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the LORD gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful. But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the LORD his God by entering the sanctuary of the LORD’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar. (2 Chronicles 26:14-16 NLT)
Uzziah was a man who liked to blow his own horn, so to speak. He loved to make people sit up and take notice of the things that he was able to accomplish.
There are so many Christians who serve the Lord solely for the purpose of gaining recognition for their abilities and not just because they want to be a blessing. It’s not hard to spot them in a crowd because they are always talking and they love to brag. Their sermon is always the best. Their church is always the biggest, best and fastest growing. Their music is better than anyone else’s. Everything about them is bigger and better than anyone else and they love to tell everyone about it.
The story is told of a turtle who wanted to spend the winter in Florida, but he knew he could never walk that far. He convinced a couple of geese to help him, each taking one end of a piece of rope, while he clamped his vise-like jaws in the center. The flight went fine until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, "Who in the world thought of that?" Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, "I di…..d! "
Hezekiah
But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the LORD’s anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 32:25 NLT)
Nebuchadnezzar
As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ (Daniel 4:30 NLT)
These two men were guilty of pride in their own accomplishments. They had taken the blessings of God, used those blessings to lift themselves up and then refused to give God the glory for anything that he had done for them.
We need to be careful to give God due credit for what he does in our lives. Whatever talents, abilities, and gifts you may have are not of your own creation. They were given by God.
Let’s all watch our prideful spirit. Let’s not be caught lifting ourselves higher than we should.
It’s a wonderful thing to know that God created us in such a way that it is nearly impossible to pat ourselves on the back, or to kick ourselves in the rear too hard.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. (James 4:10 NLT)
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