A Pride that Relies on Christ

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18, AMP)

“When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then come dishonor and shame, but with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.” (Proverbs 11:2, AMP)

Growing up, I knew my dad was proud of me. Dance recitals, school awards ceremonies, you name it– my dad was either out in the audience or waiting in the wings with tears in his eyes. But nothing was more sure to make my dad well up more than seeing me or my brother do something in the church. Getting baptized? Leading worship? Forget it; he was sure to be a puddle wherever he was standing.

And there are some moments in life where pride is permissible: when it swells in you because of an achievement, or because of a close relationship. Feeling a deep satisfaction at a success or at watching someone you love excel at what they love is a positive thing. It’s one of life’s joys. 

Is that the kind of pride warned against in the Bible? No, I don’t think so. I think that sort of pride is a natural part of life. Where pride becomes dangerous is when it goes unchecked and festers into something like arrogance. When pride stops being momentary emotion or satisfaction and becomes dependent on deriving our pride from our own accomplishments, wins, and impressiveness. Pride can very quickly become an idol in our hearts, striving for man’s praise and recognition over our own personal grandeur. 

So the destructive pride Solomon warns of in Proverbs is tied to self-importance and depends on our comings and goings– when everything we boast in has to do with us and what we do, rather than on Christ and who He is. 

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell” (James 3:5-6, ESV).

Our tongue gets us in more trouble than anything else. We run our mouths, we get carried away, and we boast in things that have nothing to do with us yet everything to do with the Lord. He is the One who is great and mighty. He is the wise Creator who put all things in motion, including our talents and gifts. There isn’t one thing about me that is remarkable because I had anything to do with it. There isn’t one thing I have done or will ever do that is outside of the plan of God. Therefore, whatever I do, I can’t take credit. God is the one who made us. God is the one who designed every thread of our personalities and who has empowered us to take another breath, let alone do anything remarkable. 

Not only that, but there is nothing we could do to merit or deserve the grace He gives. There is no great novel to pen, no opera to sing, no scientific discovery to stumble over, no mathematical equation to prove, no feat of pure strength that could earn us salvation apart from Christ. The only reason any of us amount to anything is because of the Savior we put our trust in, and when we’re gone, His is the name anyone will remember.

“This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom  or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NIV).

There is nothing we can boast about or be proud of that is higher than the Lord and His accomplishments. There is no work done in the flesh that is more impressive than God’s simply being. Our satisfaction should be staked on Him. Our pride should be derived from His accomplishments.

Solomon warns us against pride– with arrogance and self-importance comes shame and dishonor. It will always end in the destruction of our spirits. Being puffed up over ourselves will always amount to nothing.

But real wisdom is remaining teachable. Real soundness of mind is found in humility and understanding that the God we serve is so much bigger and deserves so much glory. 

“A bulging wall is near a downfall. Swelling is a dangerous symptom in the body; so is pride in the soul” (John Trapp). 

Swelling in arrogance is something that should be addressed as any bowing wall or swelling limb. It needs immediate attention. It should not be ignored. To do so is to risk the integrity of the whole. And this is not in relation to that fleeting pride of a momentary accomplishment– that soaring feeling of meeting a goal or watching someone else do something well. Pride that breeds a reliance on self and promotes a dependence on our own strength is the sort of pride that will cause us to fall.

Remember: God confused the people building the Tower of Babel, thinking themselves more impressive than God and trying to build something in their own strength to glorify the cunning of man. They built the tower to quite literally make a name for themselves. And God scattered them. There is not a single brick the world can turn to now and say, “That’s where Babel was built.” 

There is nothing we can build that is more impressive than God. There is nothing we can do that is worth more glory than God Himself. We will always fall. Our sin makes it so. Only God can redeem our weak and feeble attempt at building anything. Our boast should be in nothing else but Him, and the remarkable God that He is and what He alone has done.