“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”

Ezekiel 16:49

“Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” Proverbs 16:18

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, in humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but give grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. I Peter 5:5

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1ff

Pride, they say, is the last sin to go from the believer’s life and the first one to come back. Pride has been defined as thinking about oneself other than we really are. We usually think of pride as being puffed up and boastful about ourselves or our achievements; the big shot kind of pride. And so it is. It is also possible to be proud and self-deprecating at the same time. When being complimented for something, one might say, “No, I’m not very good at that…” That person may be proud of their supposed humility. Pride can be just thinking too much about ourselves. It’s difficult to be authentically humble.

A good definition of humility is seeing ourself, as God does. We are a wonderful creation of his, an object of his redeeming love, in need his loving guidance daily, and destined to rule and reign with Christ forever. Surrounding us in the physical world is an almost infinite number of intricate systems operating in harmony. A close look at any one of them is awe-inspiring. Recognizing that God made the world and everything in it is genuinely humbling, as Job said to the Lord after He revealed a few natural wonders to Job, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore, I retract and I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42

Life is full of opportunities to humble ourselves, right? Because God understands and cares for us we ought to run to the Savior and tell him of our need and our desire to walk with him. He has promised to aid us with grace if we do so.

The only way to deal with personal pride is to see God as he really is in Scripture, enabled by the Spirit’s illumination. Then we realize our need for God and for the people he puts in our lives. To get a glimpse of God himself helps me take my place at his table as one of his amazing creatures, redeemed, and enjoying his friendship now and forever.

In tragic contrast to being properly related to the Creator the month of June has been designated as Global Pride Month by those who have been deceived into thinking that they are their own god. Yet, God says, “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’…Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting’? Or to a woman, ‘to what are you giving birth?’” Isaiah 45:9-10. We are not godlets, free to reject our Creator’s design and cast our own reality. This brazen ideology has many sad consequences for individuals, families and societies.

Living for the Lord Jesus today will put us at variance with the world around us. While this has always been true throughout the history of God’s people on earth, it is becoming increasingly apparent today as the culture moves away from God’s order.

You and I are in good company as those who belong to the Lord Jesus, attempting to serve him humbly.

“The reward of humility—the fear of Yahweh—is riches, glory, and life.”

Proverbs 22:4

Your tip for the week:

Drink plenty of water when you get up in the morning.

Until next Friday afternoon…

“Hang up and live”