40-Day Devotion, Day 30

PREPARATION: READ JAMES 4:1-10

Beware Of Pride

Two ducks and a frog lived happily together in a farm pond. The best of friends, the three would amuse themselves and play together in their waterhole. When the hot summer days came, however, the pond began to dry up and soon it was evident they would have to move. This was no problem for the ducks because they could easily fly to another pond. But the frog was stuck.

So the frog came up with an ingenious idea. He suggested that the two ducks take a long stick and bite the ends of it so that they could hold it between them. Then the frog would bite the middle of the stick and hang on as they flew to another pond.

The plan worked well–so well, in fact, that as they were flying along, a farmer looked up in admiration and mused: “Well, isn’t that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it?” The proud frog bragged: “I diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid.”

Pride is the first sin ever committed. Pride was the reason for Lucifer’s fall. He aspired to be like God and desired to receive glory that wasn’t due him. So Lucifer took a shot at the title and tried to unseat God from Heaven’s throne. Bad idea. That’s why today we no longer call him Lucifer (“Morning Star”), but Satan (“Adversary”). Satan is God’s enemy and, therefore, our enemy too.

Satan’s trick: He tells us that we must reach a certain level in life to have a sense of worth. To the unsaved person who has never accepted Jesus as Savior, the enemy whispers: “You don’t need a Savior; don’t bow your knee to anyone. After all, you’re in control of your own destiny.” To the Christian, Satan takes a more subtle approach: “Don’t ask for help. You can do this without God. You don’t have to tell your friends you’re struggling. After all, they’ll think so much less of you; they’ll think you are weak.”

We see through studying Scripture that pride is not only the first sin, but it’s also one of the “six things which the Lord hates... and are an abomination to Him,” (Proverbs 6:16). “Haughty eyes”(v. 17) or eyes raised in arrogance. Pride is also a sinful behavior the Bible specifically tells us God opposes (James 4:6) and “knows from afar,” (Psalms 138:6). No wonder God detests it so much.

Pride takes a lot of different forms, but in the end, it serves only one purpose: self-glorification. Its sole purpose is to steal from God what is rightfully His and what only He is truly worthy of. It makes us mini-Lucifers. It is an act of egotism that demonstrates we haven’t really fully surrendered the throne to the Lord.

People fall victim to pride for several reasons: self-centeredness, feelings of inadequacy, immaturity and inability to handle responsibility, wealth, position and gifts God has given them. Some Indicators of pride might include not being able to stand seeing others succeed, constantly comparing yourself to others (“I’m not as bad as they are”), prayerlessness (because it takes humility to pray), contention (unwilling to back down from confrontation), or arrogance.

Take a look in the mirror: all of us to some degree are guilty of this sin. (If you think you aren’t, you just convicted yourself of the crime!) So the question is not “if” but “how much.” Is pride one of your besetting sins? Take some time to examine your heart. Is your life “all about me” or “all about others and God”? Deep down inside where the real you lives, you know the answer to that.

Consider for a moment how others see you. If pride is 1 and humility is 10, how would others rate you? If you have a thick skin and can handle the truth, ask a couple of trusted friends or your spouse their honest, unabashed opinion. If they label you as prideful and you get angry, that’s another good sign you have a big problem! Ask God to bring to light any areas hindering your relationship with Him. Open your heart to what God reveals to you and commit to placing Him as number one above all else, including yourself.

The warnings from Scripture about pride couldn’t be any more seriousor sobering. And there’s a reason it’s spoken about so much. God accepts us as we are, but He knows pride is like acid to our relationship with Him. It corrodes our intimacy. It severs our dependency. It clouds our perception of His will. And it isolates us from His ability to fully use us for His glory. Someone once said, “A good acrostic for ego is ‘Edging God Out.’ ”