Pride Before the Fall

 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

– Proverbs 11:2

There’s a certain pride factor when you do it yourself and do it right. Who can deny the satisfaction gained from viewing a shiny polished car or a lush, manicured lawn? And that goes double when you put hours of hard work into your efforts. Yes, you should be proud.

Or should you?

Maybe taking pride in a job well done is OK to a point. But as Christ-followers, we need to understand that PRIDE is actually one of those giants that can hurt us badly if we don’t watch out. But is pride really that much of a big deal? It’s not like one of those negative-sounding issues like FEAR and DEATH. And there’s not the shame that’s associated with LUST.

But as it turns out, the Bible teaches that misplaced pride really IS a big deal to God. That’s because pride can be a crippling disease with some very nasty side effects. First, we see it in other people but not in ourselves. And eventually, we get to the point where we think we can do it all — and all while forgetting the fact that God is the true power and source of our successes. We become arrogant, vain, stubborn and defensive. We may even develop a strange sense of satisfaction when others (sometimes even our friends) face difficulties or tragedies in their lives. These symptoms last for a while. But only up to the point where God finally lets us crumble and fall flat from some unforeseen situation or circumstance. 

It’s called the pride before the fall. And it’s only then that we come back to our senses and come back to God with a humble heart. 

What’s the prescription for curing this infection called PRIDE? It’s not about adopting a permanently low self-esteem or a woe-is-me attitude. Instead, it’s all about replacing self-confidence with God-confidence. Our best strategy is to always put God first in our lives and remember that we can do nothing without him. Always give him the credit for your blessings and successes. And then remember that God chooses and uses the humble to do great things in the world.

The Bible sums it up with some solid advice: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."