The Danger With the Label "Pride"
As June arrives, the word pride will be everywhere we look, symbolized by a rainbow. The issue lies in our society’s obsession with pride—it has no place in God’s kingdom. Pride is not something to be celebrated as it stains us. This is proved by Adam and Eve being kicked out of the garden, Nebuchadnezzar developing the mind of an animal, and is even the reason Satan fell. Pride doesn’t help people; it destroys families, breaks relationships, takes down nations, kills careers, splits churches, and the list goes on.
In the end, pride hurts people. It tells God not only do we think we know better than Him, but that we are also more enlightened than He is.
The Danger of Pride: Biblical References
Society, over time, has gone out of its way to wave a flag dedicated to pride for a whole month while the Bible goes out of its way to articulate how dangerous this is:
Proverbs 11:2: “When pride comes, then comes disgrace.”
Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall.”
Proverbs 29:23: “One's pride will bring him low.”
James 4:6: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
There are going to be a lot of people who are going to oppose us in life. However, there is one person you don’t want against you: God.
Why Are God and Pride Opposed?
So, why does God hate pride? It's because this self-given credit is the refusal to acknowledge that there is a higher power. It's an attempt to elevate ourselves above God, to strip Him of the honor, glory, and leadership that He rightfully deserves. Pride is about claiming credit for things that are not ours to claim — it's about self-absorption.
It's the self-sufficiency, self-glorification, and self-righteousness that pride instills in us, as if to say, “I don’t need God; I am independent of him. I am fine without him.” Ironically, focusing on humility can be just as detrimental. We can convince ourselves we have obtained it and see that as its own reason to be prideful once more.
So How Can You Mitigate Pride?
We are called to die to ourselves daily, to continually gaze upon Christ, look at the cross, and be in awe of what he has done for us. He is the one who had every right to be proud, yet he humbled himself. God served us by putting on flesh and being found in the likeness of man. He could have passed judgment on us, but instead, He extended His grace for the joy set before Him.
Rather than destroying sin, Jesus annihilates it on the cross for all of mankind, looks down, and says, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’This is what we celebrate. So, for the month of June, let us celebrate humility. Can we celebrate His grace, love, mercy, and goodness? Can we gaze upon the flag of Jesus, and can you elevate the flag of Jesus higher than any other flag?
