Today we continue in this Lenten Series looking at overcoming temptations that we often face.  Last week we looked at overcoming the temptation of materialism or greed.  Today we are looking at overcoming pride.

Good Pride

Let me say from the outset that there is a good sense of pride that is healthy that everyone needs. One of the aspects of pride in the positive sense is: reasonable or justifiable self-respect.  A good sense of pride is a person who has the right sense of self-esteem and confidence. 

We can take pride in our achievements.  I can cite examples like those who are awarded, “Teacher of the Year”.  “Employee of the month”. “Student of the Month”.  And there are great achievements for people in medicine, sports, art and literature and public service and it is good that we can take pride in their work.

We can be proud of our children and grandchildren.  I think when God spoke from heaven at Jesus’ baptism, He was expressing a positive and good sense of pride when He said, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him”.   When we share similar words of blessing to our children there is an important essence of a good sense of pride being displayed.

We can be proud of our city or nation.   We can stand for our flag and give allegiance.  We can prayerfully support and encourage our city officials and national leaders while we work for improvement and safety and furtherance of our freedoms.

These are all positive examples of the positive and best sense of pride.  And we see in these examples a proper and balanced sense of self-worth that is good for healthy and meaningful relationships. We would include in this the biblical truth that all humanity is created in the image of God and of sacred worth.  We are the crowning point of God’s creation even though fallen.  We will talk about this later. But this is reason for a good sense of pride.

Sinful Pride

This is when pride is imbalanced and negative…Hence it is listed as one of the 7 deadly sins.  Many theologians, teachers and authors see pride as the chief source of other sins.  I think that is correct.  Without pride the other sins would not happen.  Pride is the chief avenue through which all sins flow because it prevents the operation of God’s grace from working and then opens the door for all other sins to take place.

I looked up a definition of pride and here is what it reads.

Pride is an inordinate self-esteem: conceit; a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in conduct. (Dictionary.com)

There are many synonyms or words associated with pride…arrogant, haughty, egotistical, selfish, conceited, insolent, etc.  And pride can be captured in colloquial statements. One my mother often spoke to me…Son, don’t get too big for your britches.  Or other sentiments like…Don’t’ get above your raisin’ (that a county music song for sure). Or don’t let this compliment give you the big head… or a person is stuck on himself/herself… These are just a few examples of how we might describe a prideful person.

One of the best biblical descriptions I know is found in Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.

A very simple instruction but so hard to maintain.  Dwell on this for a moment. Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think. Pride is the opposite of this. Pride is exaggerating our selfish desires.  It is really making our self, take precedent over God.

Pride is both a disposition or mind set and a type of conduct.  So it involves both thinking and behavior.  Pride is more visible in actions and behavior.  But Pride can also hide in our attitude and mindset.

First, Overt Pride.   You often see this displayed by a person who brags about their ability or accomplishments but even worse belittling others who are seen as inferior or inadequate.

 I heard a story of a man who completed two master’s degrees and was quickly hired by a business firm.  They were moving out desks and rearranging the office as he was moving in.  He was asked to help and refused.  He indicated they did not hire him to move furniture.  In his objection, he mentioned he had two Master’s Degrees.  One of the assistants commented to him, “So you have two Master’s Degrees?”  He replied, “I certainly do!”  Then she replied, “Well then you should have no trouble helping move out this furniture!”  This man felt superior to others because of his position and education.

There is a humorous story about the great boxer Mohammad Ali.  He was seated on a plane getting ready for takeoff.  The attendant asked him to put on his seat belt.  He ignored her.  She came back for a final inspection before take-off.  She firmly directed him to put on his seatbelt.  He arrogantly said, “Superman doesn’t need a safety belt!”  The attendant had a quick come back, “Superman doesn’t need an airplane!  Now buckle up your seatbelt!”  Again, we see the inflation of the self in these stories. Thinking he was above the safety guidelines that others had to obey.

But as we turn to the scripture today, we see pride very clearly demonstrated by Jesus in this parable of two men who went to the temple to pray.  Note from the beginning there is a preface statement which reads, “Some people who trust in themselves”.  The main idea is a preoccupation of trusting in our own abilities vs trusting in God to ultimately bring about our forgiveness or justification.

Needless to say, this prayer would have created a separation between the Pharisee and publican. Can you imagine how it would have felt for the publican to hear this prayer that directly discredited and demeaned his person.  This was a very overt and visible form of pride that was spoken out and unhidden.  But pride is not only outward behavior, it is an inward attitude.

Second, Covert Pride   We know that military and police often perform undercover or covert operations.  We may not see them or know what is happening.  But it is very real.  This is often the case with how pride operates in us.

Pride is ultimately a desire to do things our own way vs God’s way.  The root or pride goes all the way back to Genesis.  Adam and Eve decided to make their own way apart from the design of God. They were tempted to “be like God” by eating the forbidden fruit.   While we may not see it clearly, this is a supreme form of arrogance in thinking we can make our own way, and do not need to follow God’s design or instruction.  Tragically, this caused a great disruption in their relationship with God and brought out the curse over creation and death.

We should also indicate that pride is more directly related to the devil.  Remember Lucifer was one of the beautiful angels appearing before God.  Isaiah reminds us that Lucifer was cast out of heaven because of his desire to take over God’s throne or at least to make himself like the Most High God.  Listen to Isaiah’s description,  “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12f)

When you think of it, pride deluded a beautiful angel into the diabolic enemy of God.

John Milton’s classic book, Paradise Lost, has a line that has captivated my attention across the years since I first read it in college.  Milton powerfully relays the prideful words of Satan, “I would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.”   Think about that statement for a moment. That is a very clear picture of the essence of pride. What you see here is found in the last words of the parable where Jesus teaches that those who exalt themselves will be humbled.

From Satan and Adam and Eve and a myriad of others to our present day, there is the very sure statement of scripture:  Pride goes before a fall! For Satan his rebellion and pride caused his FALL from heaven.

 We even call the willful disobedience of Adam and Eve the FALL.  It was pride that brought about the FALL of Adam and Eve and of humanity. 

IF Pride is a willful disregard of God and a heart that is unwilling to surrender to God, then what is it’s opposite?  It is humility. And humility is pictured in the Publican who came openly before God with his sin and brokenness and cried for God’s mercy.

Humility is defined as, “A quality by which a person considering his own defects willingly submits himself to God and to others for God’s sake.”

St. Bernard defines it as, “A virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is, abases himself. Jesus Christ is the ultimate definition of Humility.”

On the surface humility would be a mind and heart that is surrendered to God.  Philippians 2:5 teaches us to have the mind of Christ.  And what is the mind of Christ?  The explanation is that Jesus was equal to God and did not think this power or position was something to grasp.  The text says that Jesus humbled himself and became a human.  He took on flesh and blood and made himself vulnerable, capable of being injured or even killed.  And we know that is exactly what was to happen.  It says that he became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. It the opposite of Satan’s line.  Jesus came to serve on earth rather than rule in heaven.

But humility is often misunderstood.  I misunderstood it for many years even growing up in the church. Humility is too often associated with weakness with no sense of self-esteem or self-worth.

But the Old Testament reminds us that Moses was the humblest man on the planet.  But he was a strong man.  You remember Moses was a leader greatly used by God to help deliver his people from the most powerful ruler of the earth at that time. So, humility doesn’t mean that we lack strength and ability.  But it does means that our ability and our strength is yielded to love and to serve others as Jesus did.

Nik Wallenda is an American follower of Christ who has become the most-watched high wire artist and daredevil in the world. His two most recent feats were seen by a billion people across the world. In 2012 Wallenda walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls. In 2013 Wallenda became the first person to high wire across the Grand Canyon. (Show picture here).

Wallenda knows that he will be tempted by pride, so after the huge crowds and the media fade away, he engages in a simple spiritual discipline: he walks where the crowds have just stood and quietly picks up trash. Wallenda recently wrote,

My purpose is simply to help clean up after myself. The huge crowd left a great deal of trash behind, and I feel compelled to pitch in. Besides, after the inordinate amount of attention I sought and received, I need to keep myself grounded. Three hours of cleaning up debris is good for my soul.Listen carefully to what he says next, Humility does not come naturally to me. So if I have to force myself into situations that are humbling, so be it …. I know that I need to get down on my hands and knees like everyone else. I do it because it’s a way to keep from tripping. As a follower of Jesus, I see him washing the feet of others. I do it because if I don’t serve others I’ll be serving nothing but my ego.

This reminds me of the disciples arguing over who was the greatest.  Then Jesus washed their feet and modeled servanthood. (Show picture here).  Then he told them the greatest will be the servant of all.  Jesus’ teaching was not about position or power or prestige or self-promotion.  Jesus was about self- surrender and self -denial.

Now here I see Jesus serving as a tremendous model of humility.  The greatest example of this is in the Garden where Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but thy will be done”.  (Show pic of Jesus in the Garden). This was both the mindset/attitude and then action of Jesus.  Jesus would never have left heaven without a heart that was fully surrendered to God’s will. He would never have surrendered his life on a cruel cross for our sins without humility.

Maxie Dunam and his daughter Kim authored a prayer workbook about the seven deadly sins.   One thing they mention which reminds of the words spoken at Ash Wednesday when the ashes are placed on our foreheads, “Repent and believe the gospel”.  But in the workbook, they relate a very candid word. Our pride will not allow us to confess and repent.  Pride keeps us from seeing our faults and failure.  We are like the Pharisee in the parable who could not see his own sins, only the sins of others. This is very similar to last week when we learned that everybody thought greed was the worst sin, but nobody would own their greed.

But even if we see our sins, our pride leads us to justify ourselves or make excuses rather than having a heart of humility that confesses our sins and repents so that we can more fully perform God’s will in our lives. My prayer and hope is that we will humble ourselves repent where we need to repent and trust God and experience true forgiveness then allow God to give us a humble mind just like Jesus. In essence we are one of these 2 men who went to pray.