God will help you over selfish pride. We can be proud of our spouses, proud of our children, and even feel happy about an accomplishment we did. This is not the kind of pride to which I am referring. I am talking about comparing ourselves with others and feeling superior to them, feeling better and more important than others, or thinking we don’t need God. This is called selfish pride.
Pride Runs to the Rescue of Insecurity
I have struggled with this sin of selfish pride a lot during my life, so I can tell you what not to do. What is the root of selfish pride? I have discovered that proud people have a root of insecurity for which they are trying to compensate. Proud people may really be insecure under all that pride. They may really be unsure of themselves.
Pride runs to the rescue of insecurity. We try to look better than others or perform better than others to convince ourselves we are worth more than they are. We want to be better to convince ourselves we are loveable. We are trying to attain self-esteem in the wrong kind of way.
We don’t have to perform for God’s love or acceptance. He gives it to us as a gift! We are never worth more than others based on our looks or performance. The truth is that each of us humans is so precious to God just the way each of us is! Of course, God loves us so much that He will not leave us in our miserable, sinful condition. He will help us to become more like Him as we surrender ourselves to Him in humility.
Pride is also the attitude, “God, I don’t need You.” It’s trying to find happiness and our life without God. This kind of selfish pride is the essence of sin. Isaiah 14 tells us of how the great sin of spiritual pride, trying to be God, is what led to the downfall of the king of Babylon, and in type, Satan, the devil. Any religion that tells us that we are God is leading us into the greatest sin and deception!
God Resists the Proud, But Gives Grace to the Humble
God will help you over selfish pride. First, we must humble ourselves before God. We learn in James 4:6b (King James Version of the Bible), “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” In Luke 1:51-52, we read of Jesus’ mother, Mary’s, testimony, “‘He [God] has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.'”
God will deal with those who persist in pride. We need God. We can’t do it on our own. In John 15:4-5 we read the words of Jesus to His disciples (that includes us),
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
True Happiness Comes from Receiving God’s Love and Depending on Him!
Why would we want to do it “our way”? True happiness comes from receiving God’s love and depending on Him! Revelation 4:11 tells us, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” You and I were created to glorify God! We were created for God’s pleasure! If you humble yourself before God, He delights in you!
Give Glory to God
Jesus’ followers will one day be glorified (given extreme honor) if they follow Him. Romans 8:29-30 tells us this:
For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Hallelujah! We will be glorified one day! However, that is then, and this is now. Psalm 115:1 tells us, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give glory….” We were created to give God glory and praises, not to exalt ourselves. Truthfully, glorifying and obeying God is where we find joy and happiness! God will help you over selfish pride!
Everything Good About Us God Gave Us
Everything good about us God gave us. First Corinthians 4:7 (New American Standard Bible) says, “For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” We have no room for boasting because of the good things about us and the talents we have. We are not superior to others. God gave it all to us!
There is no such thing as a “self-made man”! God created each of us. He put us in our mother’s wombs and knit us together. He chose to whom we would be born and where in the world we would be born. Most of us were kept alive by our parents. We survive on air He created for us to breathe and water He gave us to drink. We eat food He so lovingly made to grow for us. So many things we eat, consume, and wear were grown and made by other people. Other people taught us how to talk and read. We ride in cars and on bicycles others made. Doctors, nurses, and nutrition-minded people may help us with our health. I could go on and on. It is truthful that God Himself takes care of us and uses many other people to help us stay alive and fulfill our earthly callings. We are not self-made men!
Pride Comes Before a Fall
Proverbs 16:18 tells us, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” If we persist in pride, God can arrange trials where we fall to humble us. Sometimes it isn’t a fall, just an uncomfortable situation to humble us. It is part of His loving discipline. I have experienced these embarrassing situations many times in my life. You can read all about it in my autobiography on my website, A Little Person With A Big Testimony: My Autobiography (link below). God knows how to crucify our selfish pride. It’s not pleasant and could even be painful, but it’s all a part of His making us into His spiritually beautiful sons and daughters! Hebrews 12 tells us not to despise the chastening of the Lord because He does it for our good to bring us to a place of peace. I encourage you to read that chapter!
God Will Exalt the Humble
We read good news in 1 Peter 5:6-7: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” He cares for you! He is there to lean on! The humbling trials don’t last forever. After we humble ourselves, God will eventually exalt us! By then, we will be able to handle the honor properly.
God is not against a good self-esteem based on His love! He just wants us to see ourselves as precious to Him as others are precious to Him, as well. He does not want us to compare with others. Second Corinthians 10:12 says, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Let us not compare ourselves with others. That is an unwise trap.
God will help you over selfish pride, as He is helping me. Be the best you can be by God’s grace, His enabling. Use your strengths to serve God and others. We are admonished in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
As my husband, Charlie, said, “The answer to pride is getting more of God’s love.” Sounds good to me, count me in! How about you? Are you willing to give God all of you? He will love away that insecurity and give you a good self-esteem based purely on His love and acceptance! Bring it on, God!!! 🙂
Send me your prayer requests how I can pray for you to overcome pride (if you want). I love hearing your comments!
If humility is the cry of your heart, you may enjoy my song “Save Me” on my CD, Prepare To Meet Your God. I recorded this CD myself in my home. Go to this page and click #9:
My Music – Bride Of Jesus Ministry
Here is my autobiography where you can learn about my journey with God to get over pride, insecurity, people-pleasing, and other issues:
A Little Person With A Big Testimony: My Autobiography – Bride Of Jesus Ministry
I talk about this issue on p. 68 in A Romantic Journey With Jesus: Commentary On The Song Of Solomon. My husband, Charlie, and I co-authored this with God’s inspiration:
A Romantic Journey With Jesus: Commentary On The Song Of Solomon – Bride Of Jesus Ministry
This is a great song by Twila Paris about this subject:
This is a great song about this topic by Shannon Adducci. It is called “Loved.”
I love this one below! I especially love to sing it and play it on my guitar!
I find myself listening to Tauren Wells often this year. God has ministered to me so much through his music! Here is a favorite. Catchy, huh?
Love this one, too, by King and Country with Jordin Sparks: