20 Attributes of Pride: Examining Ego, Hindrance & Deliverance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I reflect on group bible study sessions and conferences that I’ve attended, as well as my own personal reading and study, I’ve committed to sharing the nuggets that the Lord gives me here on this blogging platform. This post is such a time.

I recently attended a mind-blowing bible study on the topic of “Pride”. It’s amazing how we hear a word like pride, and automatically think of others – and not ourselves. Certainly, there is such a thing as positive pride, or in other words, justifiable, reasonable self-respect. But a spiritual hindrance for many if not all of us – in one way or another, at some point in time or another – is negative pride.

I mentioned in a recent post that my Pastor had initiated a “Battle Class” series to temporarily replace our traditional Sunday School. The purpose of these Battle Classes is to take tough topics, break them down for every day application, and use the lessons to reflect on and to recognize areas that we need the help and deliverance of Jesus. In the words of my Pastor, “If you’re not honest, your deliverance will be hindered. You have to see yourself in these teachings.” Well the lesson my Pastor delivered last week during his bible teaching on Pride was so awesome and full of revelation that I’ve decided to share my notes here in this post. I pray the following is salt and light to those who read it (and need it).

The Origin of Pride

Pride is basically feeling that you are more important than others. It is an inordinate, excessive self-esteem. The origin of pride: Satan. The angel Lucifer was created to be beautiful, intelligent, anointed, and more powerful than any of the angels. He started admiring his own beauty and power, and wanted even more. His fall from Heaven came when he took his eyes off of God, and he began to see himself. He was no longer content with the gifts God gave him. He was perfect, but that wasn’t enough (Read more in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14).

The other piece to this is Ego, or in other words, the way we see ourselves. We all have an ego or an image of ourselves. And that’s not a bad thing. If you didn’t have an image of yourself, you wouldn’t have the ability to look at yourself and realize you need saving. But ego combined with pride is where you run into trouble. When human kind fell in the Garden of Eden, Satan tapped into Adam and Eve’s ego. He told Eve she would see herself differently. He tapped into her self-image, and basically says, “surely you want to be like God!” (See Genesis 3).

So what happened in both cases? That’s right, a fall. You see, the ultimate result of pride is a fall. Nothing else can resolve pride. I would imagine that surely if there was something else God could have done to bring them out of this, He would have. Lucifer was God’s most precious and powerful angel, and Adam and Eve were His masterpiece and the very reflection of His image!  But as you can see, the only resolve for their pride was a great fall.

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” ~ Proverbs 16:18

The good news is, when God allows a fall, it is for our learning. God does not punish, rather, He corrects…He chastens…He wants us to be better. When Satan fell, there was not correction because the angels were created without sin and in a state of perfect holiness – therefore angels cannot repent. God knows we have flaws and we were born into sin, so He allows (and looks for) our repentance. In fact, God wrapped himself in flesh and came down to earth from Heaven to learn about and identify with what we experience. Thank you Jesus!

20 Attributes of Pride: 

1. When you look at yourself instead of God, you lose perspective. You start comparing yourself to others. And let’s be real, you won’t compare yourself to someone higher or greater than you. Nope, pride will cause you to lift and exalt yourself over those that you feel you have a leg up on.
2. It’s easy to trump yourself up based on your achievements, however the truth is, your degrees and accomplishments don’t move you any closer to God. What you should say is, “The Lord allowed me to do or accomplish xyz…”
3. Pride will cause you to want more than you’re entitled to, or things that you’re not entitled to at all.
4. Pride will make you no longer content with what you have, and it will cause you to covet what others have.
5. Pride gives birth to a whole lot of “stuff”, and is the foundation of many of our shortcomings.
6. Pride makes you think everyone else is wrong, and whatever you do is right.
7. Pride makes you think everyone else is beneath you.
8. Pride isolates you. After a while the “common folk” that you treated as though they were beneath you, won’t want to deal with you.
9. It’s hard to get along with a person that’s operating in pride.
10. Pride will lie to you (See Obadiah 1:3). It will tell you that you are somebody that you’re not, that you are further along than you are, and that you can do things that you can’t do!
11. Pride will cause you to disagree with the truth. If it didn’t come from you, you reject it. It may be true, but you still reject it.
12. Pride will blind you, because you’re not looking at what’s before you, you are looking at you.
13. Pride will hinder your learning. You think you know everything.
14. Pride will hinder your personal ministry. It places you higher than those that you are trying to minister to. Jesus was in Heaven, but he came down to walk among us and identify with us. It’s hard to teach those that you consider “below” you. To be a good teacher, you need to be able to understand your audience. Ministry is about communication. If I’m operating in pride, I don’t expect you to get it. I’ll use big words and fancy language to boost myself, not worrying about actually connecting with those I’m trying to teach. Jesus spoke in parables to make things relatable and clear to those he was ministering to – to make sure they got it.
15. Pride makes you start calling out flaws in others. You could be disagreeing with a person about something (an isolated issue), and pride will make you think of other completely unrelated issues and flaws to throw in their face. The only way pride stays up, is by pointing out things in others that are low.
16. Pride can keep you in an unforgiving place. Example: “How dare they say or do that to me!”
17. Pride keeps you from acknowledging you’re wrong. You just want to shift the blame.
18. Pride will keep you from repenting.
19. Pride says, “I’m going to do what I want to do.”
20. If you have pride, you will likely lie.

In closing…

How do you deal with a person who is operating in pride? Simple: stop arguing with them. They don’t see they’re wrong because they don’t WANT to see they’re wrong. To admit they are wrong takes away from their perfection. A prideful person doesn’t want to take away from their perfection because that ultimately affects their ego. Then they will see themselves as imperfect, and they don’t want to see themselves as imperfect!

We are all wrong at times. We all have fault. We all may even struggle with pride at times. So I leave you with a few scriptures on pride to help you keep things in God’s perspective…

“All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech…Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom…Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.” ~ Proverbs 8:13, 11:2 and 13:10

After addressing the Pharisees and scribes on defilement, Jesus later explained to His disciples that pride defiles a man.

And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” ~ Mark 7: 20-23

 

 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ~ James 4:6

 

 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” ~ 1 John 2:16

 

 

Peace & Blessings ❤

Tiffany

 

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