Love is ... (Pt 6)

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Proverbs 16:18-19 ESV).

Today we come to one of the most difficult characteristics describing genuine love in practice. The Apostle Paul says we are to be proud without arrogance (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4). The bible is clear. Pride goes before destruction. And although we may condemn more visible sins, pride by far is the most deadly. Pride acts as the gateway to just about every other sin, and pride acts as a barrier between you and God, and your will and God’s will. That is why the bible speaks so harshly against the sin of pride. In the book of Proverbs God gives a list of things He hates, and the first one on the list is pride. Pride is included in the seven deadly sins; we are warned that if we exalt ourselves, God will bring us down. Does that mean I cannot be proud of my children or grandchildren? Does that mean I cannot be proud of their accomplishments and victories in life? Of course not! Pride becomes destructively sinful when it begins to cause a feeling of superiority over other people. Pride is sinful when it begins to inflate who you are and what you have done. We said it’s okay to put a bumper sticker on your car about your kid being an honor student, but if you put one up there saying my kid is an honor student and your kid is dumb, that would be wrong! Sinful pride inflates oneself, and everyone else is deflated in the process. Pride is sinful when it causes you to not admit wrong doing, imperfections, and the role others have played in your life. Today I challenge you to exalt others. Be an encourager of people. The Apostle Paul cautions us through his message to the Thessalonians: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). The problem is the arrogance of boasting: To glorify oneself in speech; talk in a self-admiring way. People do this all the time when they brag about how great they are, or how exceptional their accomplishments are apart from God or anyone else. It is merely a means to glorify themselves rather than God. People hate when a person opens their mouth and begins to “lift themselves up” over others – it’s offensive and selfish. Perhaps it’s offensive because, deep-down, we all know (Christian or not) that God is the only one who can glorify himself. We’ve all been given gifts and talents – born with special abilities – and while these are spectacular, it all originates from God. So he deserves all the glory and we should never glorify ourselves in our speech. We must take care to practice humility in our rightful pride.