Problems with Pride
In studying through Proverbs, one finds several Scriptures related to pride—and several bad results due to exhibiting it. Jesus illustrated the point in a parable found in Luke 14:7-11. Those who have a huge dose of pride arrive at a wedding feast and begin to take the best seats. Jesus cautions that someone more honorable may have been invited, and it would therefore be somewhat humiliating to have to move to one of the lowest seats. On the other hand, the one who takes one of the lower seats may very well be honored and asked to move to a place of greater prominence. The conclusion is: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Pride and Being Brought Low
Isaiah the prophet (in 2:11-12) talked of a future time when the proud would be brought low:
The lofty looks of men shall be humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
For the day of the LORD of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up—
And it shall be brought low.
However, no one needs to wait until the Day of Judgment to receive comeuppance. Solomon wrote: “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Pr. 29:23) Allen Webster, in his book, Seven Things a Loving God Hates, tells of an incident involving the champion boxer, Muhammed Ali (born Cassius Clay). Known for his rhymes, Ali loved to boast:
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,
I’m the greatest. I’m Mohammad Ali.”
One time he was aboard an airplane which was preparing to take off. The flight attendant noticed that he was not wearing a seat belt and reminded him to buckle it. Rather abrasively, he said, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” The woman, without missing a beat, replied. “Superman don’t need no airplane, either” (15). Wow! Sucker punched by a petite lady! One never knows by whom he might be brought low.
Nebuchadnezzar experienced this principle firsthand (or should we say first claw?). Even though God warned him in a dream that it would happen because of his pride a year earlier (Dan. 4:29), he ignored it, and at the very moment he was crediting himself with possessing such great power and majesty, God took his kingdom away (v. 31). He dwelt with the beasts of the field and ate like oxen for seven years. The king feasted on grass daily. How low can one go?
Pride and Shame
Proverbs 11:2 tells us: “When pride comes, then comes shame.” How often does that occur? An executive thinks he is really it in a corporation, but another is promoted over him. A basketball player thinks he is invincible, but then some schlub steals the ball from him and scores a layup at the other end of the floor. How embarrassing! Pharaoh boasted a mighty army, but it ended up at the bottom of the Red Sea. Pride can lead to overconfidence, defeat, and shame.
The poem, “Casey at the Bat,” perfectly illustrates the point, concluding with the sad and disappointing words: “But there is no joy in Mudville; mighty Casey has struck out.” One cannot always count on past abilities to come through in the clutch. Some teams perform well under pressure. A good team may be able to win a number of close games and amass an impressive record. But eventually adrenalin is not enough to secure the victory; the team and its fans stand with their heads down, awash with tears.
Making it look even worse are pre-contest assurances of victory. King Ahab was one of the wickedest kings ever, motivated in part by an even more wicked wife, Jezebel. But he got one thing right. Ben-Hadad of Syria threatened him by saying: “The gods do so to me and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful of each of the people who follow me” (1 Kings 20:10). Ahab replied: “Tell him, ‘Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off’” (v. 11). Ben-Hadad was utterly defeated, to his own shame.
Pride and Destruction
When Goliath entered into battle against David, he never dreamed that losing was even an option. His pride had led him to challenge Israel twice every day. He couldn’t get any takers until this shepherd came out to face him. Hah! Goliath was insulted: “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” (1 Sam. 17:43). He should have left the field of battle until they could find a more suitable opponent, but he was greatly offended. He told David: “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field” (v. 44). It didn’t quite go that way. David was victorious.
Haman was a proud man. He was so infuriated by Mordecai not bowing down before him or paying him homage that he determined to destroy the entire race of Israelites. But his wrath could not even wait for that to happen; he had a gallows built upon which to hang Mordecai. He thought he was riding high and therefore untouchable. The king had highly exalted him, and the queen seemed to be favorable, also. He did not know she was Jewish. Whoops. Destruction came his way—and on the very gallows he built for Mordeciai.
Nebuchadnezzar’s pride brought him low, despite a previous warning, but even worse was that Belshazzar failed to learn from the example. He knew about his father living as a beast for seven years until he fully realized that God rules in the affairs of men and gives kingdoms to whomever He chooses (Dan. 5:20-21). Nevertheless, Belshazzar did not humble himself but allowed his pride free reign. How did he exhibit arrogance? He brought the vessels from the house of the Lord, and, treating them as common items, used them to drink to the false gods of silver, gold, and bronze (Dan. 5:22-23). Therefore, both he and his kingdom were destroyed that very night and given to the Medes and the Persians (Dan. 5:28, 30). Pride and destruction were very closely related in this event (Pr. 16:18).
Pride and Contention
Two proverbs address this subject. Proverbs 13:10 tells us: “By pride comes only contention, but with the well-advised is wisdom.” Proverbs 28:25 adds: “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.” What Biblical figure comes to mind (besides Satan)? How about Diotrephes—the one who loved to have the pre-eminence, which is couched in pride? Is he involved in any contention or strife? Consider 3 John 10. John writes concerning him:
Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.
Diotrephes contended against the only apostle yet living, the beloved John, as well as faithful brethren who came to visit the church. Not only that, if any of the congregation disagreed with him, he saw to it that fellowship was withdrawn from them, thus stirring up needless division. This type of individual is determined to have his own way because whatever he thinks is superior to what everyone else thinks. There cannot be any question concerning that notion; it’s axiomatic. However, even if one person were right most of the time, that’s no guarantee of infallibility.
Moses was accused of being motivated by pride, but that sin was present in his challengers. God appointed Moses to go to Egypt and deliver God’s people out of the “iron furnace” (Deut. 4:20). He did not take on the task himself just because it was a slow day in the wilderness. God spoke through Moses and Aaron to the people. Then how dare some confront them by saying: “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?” (Num. 16:3)? What else but pride could stir up this strife? The enemies of Moses were the enemies of God, and He soon destroyed them. Paul warned the Philippians not to act out of conceit, but to be humble, as the Lord was (2:3-8).
Other Proverbs
Proverbs teaches that pride will bring a person low, lead him to shame, not to mention destruction, and it produces contention. Various passages record other observations. Proverbs 8:13, for example, says: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” God uses strong language here by saying He hates pride, but an even stronger word is used elsewhere.
Proverbs 14:3 teaches: “In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride….” Isn’t it interesting that those who have the least to brag about are sometimes the biggest boasters. Not only do the proud harm themselves, Proverbs 15:25 cautions: “The Lord will destroy the house of the proud….” In case no one has figured out that pride involves sin, Proverbs 21:4 explains it: “A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin.” The sin of pride should be avoided—and can be when we look honestly at our speech, attitudes, and motives.
The stronger word than hate is abomination. Strong defines it as “properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol.” The English dictionary says about the same: “1. An abhorrence for someone or something; loathing. 2. Something that elicits great dislike or abhorrence.” Proverbs 16:5 says simply: “Everyone who is proud of heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished.”
Another verse is part of a passage that begins by saying: “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” (Pr. 6:16). The very first one listed is “a proud look” (v. 17); it is possible that pride is an element of all the others. A lying tongue can belong to a person who thinks they can get away with not telling the truth. Hands that shed innocent blood, must be presumptuous to think they can commit such a sin and God will not notice. He knew what Cain had done. Likewise, before an evil action even occurs, God knows that in his heart he devised wicked plans.
Feet may be swift in running to evil, but God sees faster than anyone can run (yes, that includes The Flash). Does a false witness/liar really think he can get away with perjured testimony? Even if he gets away with it before men, as the false witnesses did against poor Naboth, God nevertheless observes their sin and will punish them. The seventh is the one who sows discord among brethren, and that connection between pride and discord was already noted in Diotrephes.
The saddest aspect of possessing pride is that it keeps one out of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus listed first the importance of humility. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). One rich in pride likely will not obey the gospel (challenging it), but even if he does, he can still be cast out unless he continues the same way he started—in humility. May all Christians view pride as the danger it is.