Pride
“A man’s pride will bring him low, but he who is a humble spirit shall
obtain honor.” Proverbs 29:23 Amp.
“Pride ends in humiliation, while
humility brings honor”
Pride!
If we are not careful; there are times, when we all find ourselves wrestling
with an over exalted sense of self-importance; that begins to weigh heavily
inside of our hearts. Little do we realize, that a lying spirit; just whispered
to our soul.
Webster’s
definition has this to say about Pride:
Pride, n.
1. The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an
unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank,
etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in
contempt of others.
Those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Dan. iv. 37.
Pride that dines on vanity
sups on contempt. Franklin.
2. A sense of one's own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or
unworthy of one; lofty self-respect; noble self-esteem; elevation of character;
dignified bearing; proud delight; -- in a good sense.
Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride. Goldsmith.
A people which takes no pride in the noble
achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be
remembered with pride by remote descendants. Macaulay.
3. Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or
arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation;
disdain.
Let not the foot of pride come against me. Ps. xxxvi. 11.
That hardly we escaped the pride of France. Shak.
4. That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or
self-gratulation; the occasion or ground of self-esteem, or of arrogant and
presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children, etc.
Lofty trees yclad with summer's pride. Spenser.
I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. Zech. ix. 6.
A bold peasantry, their country's pride. Goldsmith.
5. Show; ostentation; glory.
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war. Shak.
6. Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory; as, to be in the pride of one's life.
A falcon, towering in her pride of place. Shak.
7. Consciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle;
wantonness; hence, lust; sexual desire; esp., an excitement of sexual appetite
in a female beast. [Obs.]
Pride of India, or Pride of China. (Bot.) See Margosa. -- Pride of the desert (Zoöl.), the camel.
Syn. --
Self-exaltation; conceit; hauteur; haughtiness; lordliness; loftiness. -- Pride, Vanity. Pride is a high or an
excessive esteem of one's self for some real or imagined superiority, as rank,
wealth, talents, character, etc. Vanity is the love of
being admired, praised, exalted, etc., by others. Vanity is an ostentation
of pride;
but one may have great pride without displaying it. Vanity, which is etymologically “emptiness,” is applied especially to
the exhibition of pride in superficialities, as beauty, dress, wealth, etc.
Sooner
or later, we will have to accept either what God says as valid and true or man’s
mere wisdom of the world.
The
world says: “Do not apologize, because it is a sign of weakness.”
The
world says: “Never humble yourself; for it will make you look weak and small.”
We
have heard: Small is not good. Big is always better. More is better. Greed manifests itself through pride.
The
truth is: In reality, more is never enough.
God
says: “Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
KJV James 4:10
He says: “If you humble yourself, you will receive honor!” God promises; that you will be lifted up!
What
is the Fruit of Pride?
1.
Fear
a. The Fear of Man.
·
Caring what man thinks when you speak the truth.
·
Caring what man thinks when you do what is right.
·
Fearful of rejection.
b. Believing a Lie
·
Choosing to believe yourself to be better
than others.
·
Selfish exaltation to the point of fearing
you will lose
·
Choosing the lie over the truth
c. Not
trusting in God or His Word
·
Knowing the truth, yet rejecting it over
man’s “wisdom.”
·
Doubt and Unbelief
The Bible tells us that:
“Fear of man will prove to be a
snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25
Fear immobilizes and paralyzes those who choose to walk
with The spirit of fear, instead of the confidence of the Lord. The spirit of
fear works with a lying spirit while many times; they will promote the spirit
of haughtiness (pride).
We all know people who will actually lie to keep their
pride or “save face.” I ask you, “does
this really make any sense?”
Think of how television’s manipulation is being controlled
by a spirit of haughtiness. This is part of the snare to keep you from
being completely free in the Lord.
The opposite of a spirit of fear is love & faith.
Remember: Pride, Fear and Lying = being SNARED
Love and faith = Liberty and Freedom in the Lord!
Pride and Fear = imprisonment behind invisible bars.
As a believer begins to grow his life will reflect the
intense love that is inside of his heart. He knows he will never be able to pay
God for the redemption he received by faith in Christ. Because of this, we are
given a new heart in Christ and are able to give His love away.
Remember, a Tree of Pride produces: Fear, believing a
lie and lacking in faith and not trusting in God.
Example: It is a lying spirit working with a spirit of
fear that will whisper such things as:
·
“What
will people think if I go to church? What
if I lose all my friends?” = Fear of people and rejection
·
“I
come from a better family than she does, I will get the job.”=Self exaltation
·
“I will make the team, because I am better.”
= Self exaltation
·
“I
can do it all myself” = Over confidence in yourself
Can you see the fear and lacking in faith that open’s
the door for the pride?
For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2Timothy 1:7
If God has not given
us a spirit of fear, who did?
Is it something that
is manufactured in our minds when we were young, by the choices we have made in
our lives? Could it be ignorantly believing lies as we lived? Where did the
fear and the pride enter into our lives? Perhaps it was because of the way we were
raised in our environment? Is it really what the Psychologists and Psychiatrists
all claim?
Yes and no. That will
be in another article.
Timothy says that God
has given us power, love and a sound mind. This tells me that fear does not come from God.
Fear works in
opposition of God’s Love. Fear works in opposition of the faith that has been
given to you. Fear will place doubt in your mind and that is exactly what the
enemy had planned.
“my people are destroyed from
lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you
as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore
your children.” Hosea 4:6
Sounds scary doesn’t it?
I would like to ask you a question. How real is God to you? Is He
real enough for you to dig into the Bible and find out for yourself whether
what I am saying is true?
Do not take my word for it. Ask God and dig for yourself. I will help you
in any way I can.
I believe we all have
a choice; we can nurture the things of God in our hearts or the things of the Oppressor
(spirit of darkness). Just as God has many angelic messengers and workers quite
busy bringing in the new kingdom; there are also the fallen ones who work
against God’s goodness. They tempt the believers and do everything they can to
bring lies that promote fear, pride and doubt.
Those that do not
believe are right where the enemy wants them.
The fruit bearing
seeds of The Spirit of Haughtiness are a proud people.
They will mock and scorn
those who they dislike. The Bible further states they develop:
Lofty looks
Bragging and boastful tongue
Stiff-necked-stubborn and obstinate.
Be wrathful
Given to gossip
Contentious
Egotistic
Self-righteous
Feelings of Exaltations
Be holier-than-thou (a religious spirit)
Vanity
Arrogance
Dictatorial –
controlling, overbearing, domineering
Insolent
Self-assertion –
superiority, froward
(If you desire Scripture references for this
list, contact me and I will give them to you.)
Thank you for having
the patience for reading this study. There will be many sequels to this study.
I hope you will join me.
God Bless You.
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