Humility & Pride
Summary
Pride, also known as hubris or ego, is believing one is righteous without God, the worst sin of Satan (Isaiah 14:13-14). God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13) because it promotes selfishness, which destroys love for one’s community (Colossians 3:14). God destroys the proud (Proverbs 15:25; Proverbs 11:2) by humbling them (Matthew 23:12) because they are on a path of self-destruction (Proverbs 16:18), yet gives blessings to the humble (James 4:6). Humility promotes selflessness (Philippians 2:3), what love is all about (Mark 12:30-31).
Endorsements
All Christians agree humility is good and pride is bad.
Concepts
Pride is believing one is righteous without God.
Many religions preach that by doing more good than bad God will accept us, but Jesus taught that no one’s deeds can even come close to God’s holiness (Isaiah 64:6). He said that we must be perfect (Matthew 5:48). Pride is believing that you can know or do anything good without God (I Corinthians 8:2). Pride is angrily and arrogantly asserting your point of view (Proverbs 18:2), or thinking that because you work hard for your money, you’re better than others (Deuteronomy 8:18). In reality, God sustains our life (Psalms 55:22) and provides us with everything we think we earned (Philippians 4:19; I Timothy 6:17). The only way to do anything good is through Jesus’ help (Philippians 4:13). Without God, we are no better than pigs and dogs (II Peter 2:22).
Humility is strength by realizing one’s own weaknesses.
Humility is realizing that no one is righteous by their own power (Romans 3:10-11). Without God in our hearts, we’d be worse than our enemies (Romans 3:12). We actually become strong when we humble ourselves before God (James 4:10), because only by recognizing our weaknesses do we allow God to change us into something strong (II Corinthians 12:9-10). What comes after humility is honor and riches (Proverbs 22:4).
Examples
Arrogance is pride.
Similar to overconfidence, haughtiness, and conceit, arrogance is believing you definitively know something (I Corinthians 8:2; Proverbs 12:15) and thinking you are wise (Romans 12:16) without hearing directly from Jesus (I Corinthians 13:12). Logically, arrogance is dishonesty about one’s own value (Romans 12:3) that comes from trusting in your own heart or mind (Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 28:26). God strongly disdains arrogance (Proverbs 16:5), a type of pride that exalts one’s own wisdom over God, just like Satan (Ezekiel 28:5). This irrationality is based on the fear that the other belief can harm you, even though God protects us (I John 4:18). Read more about arrogance…
Mocking is pride.
Mocking, also known as scoffing, is making fun of others (Proverbs 21:24). Instead of listening to others, scoffers are too proud to accept correction (Proverbs 9:7-8). Such crude joking is not allowed; rather, we should be thankful for others’ opinions (Ephesians 5:4).
Boasting is pride.
Boasting, also known as bragging, is praising oneself, something we’re not allowed to do (Proverbs 27:2). Many boast about their own achievements, but God says the only way to heaven is by accepting a gift so that we can’t boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Boasting is illogical because anything that we do is really worthless compared to what God can do (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
Humility is finding joy in insults.
It’s natural to fear or hate those who insult or hurt us, but God says that we should find joy in trials (James 1:2-4). The reason insults should make us feel good (II Corinthians 12:10) is because they only hurt because we are conceited (II Corinthians 12:7). Instead of asking God to take away the evil (II Corinthians 12:8), realize the good feeling from an insult comes from knowing it will destroy our pride (II Corinthians 12:9).