C.S. Lewis said of pride: “There is no fault of which we are more unconscious in ourselves, and probably conscious of in others, because pride by its very nature is deceitful.”
*Pride makes us feel special and unique. This statement does not refer to the uniqueness of being created in the image of God; rather, it’s the undue self-esteem which makes us feel more important than other members of the body of Christ.
*Pride leads us to concentrate on our rights instead of our responsibilities. We’re always looking at how our rights have been violated, instead of looking at how we can be responsible and accountable to God and people.
*Pride produces hardness of heart. We become insensitive to the needs of others. The first sign of hardness of heart is when we begin to withhold love from others.
*Pride produces a lack of forgiveness. “Why should I forgive them? They hurt me.” Have you ever said that or thought that?
*Pride produces self-pity. Self-pity is a bottomless pit; it’s never satisfied. Usually, we get into self-pity because we violate the scriptural injunction not to compare ourselves among ourselves (II Cor. 10:12).
*Pride produces fear of man. We become more concerned with what people think than with what God thinks. There are usually two causes: one, we haven’t seen the greatness of God for the situation: and two, our focus is on ourselves, rather than God.
*Pride produces an unteachable spirit. How long does it take us to repent when conviction has been brought by the Spirit of God? If it takes a long time, there’s work the Holy Spirit needs to do in the area of pride.
*Pride prefers selfish interests over other’s needs.
*Pride will not admit mistakes. We blame others and excuse ourselves; and then we say, “You’re picking on me. Why are you doing that?”
*Pride leads to stinginess.
*Pride is sarcastic in humor. We cut people down with humor. Sarcastic humor implies, “You’re not going to be elevated above me in any way; therefore, I’m going to cut you down so that I can look down on you.” Listen, godly humor edifies, it builds up, and it’s very creative. Anything sarcastic is not from God, because God does not have a sarcastic heart.
*Pride leads us to rely on our own wisdom and understanding. It brings about an inability to see clearly, to think things through, and to hear the Word of the Lord. If pride has a place in our hearts, we’ll misunderstand what God is saying.
*Pride produces an independent or non-submissive spirit that leads to adhere to the letter of the law, neglecting the spirit of the law.
*Pride causes impatience with others, calling it a personality conflict. There is no such thing as a personality conflict in the body of Christ. It’s not a question of who’s right or wrong, but how I respond.
*Pride responds with judgment, slander, and criticism—sometimes speaking the truth to someone who doesn’t have a right or need to know.
*Pride produces discontentment. Are we discontented with where God leads us and the people He has put us with? Are we always wanting to be somewhere else, doing something else? If God has led you where you are, get your heart in the situation until you are content with where He’s led you; stop looking somewhere else! God does not authorize spiritual butterflies nor spiritual bumblebees.
*Pride creates disloyalty and undermines authority. It is Absalom meeting the people when they come out from David; he hugs and kisses them and says “Oh, poor David doesn’t understand, tell Absalom about it.” Have you been guilty of undermining authority because of pride?
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