Truth themes: The sin of pride shall lead the rich to perdition
I thought I should introduce the subject matter of my blog to make it easier for you to disagree with my point of view. I know that the world is keeping an unspoken secret: not one person will ever tell a rich person that there is no salvation in money and wealth alone, and that without the grace of God, through faith in Christ, their road is paved towards perdition with no hope for God's mercy.
The apocalypse (Revelations) Ch. 3 v. 17 says "You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." The Amen, Christ's new name, is instructing John of Atmos to tell this to the Church in Laodicea. Those who do not humble themselves before God are nothing but poor, miserable, blind and naked before his eyes in spite of all the wealth they may have accumulated. Jesus said it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
The main sin before God here is that of pride. The truth is that the richer one becomes the more proud and conceited they are likely to become, and the more likely they will tend to be arrogant and selfish. God will raise his powerful hand and crush the rich, sending them away with nothing, and he shall exalt, raise on high, the poor and down-trodden. That is the truth that desperately needs to be told to all those ruthlessly pursuing money as the central focus of their lives.
Many excuses abound as to why one pursues money with a single-mindedness that excludes any other important pursuits such as spiritual well being, looking after your family, friends, relatives and neighbors. There is no amount of money that is enough money for a person who hungers after money. A billion is not as good as three billion, and even that is not as good as fifteen billion. The cancer of the spirit and the soul consists of an insatiable hunger for money and wealth, careless and damaging words from the mouth, and the sin of pride. All else pales into insignificance in the face of these afflictions to the spirit.
Even among the seven deadly sins, pride is far and away the root of all sin and the most likely to lead to perdition. I urge people to start becoming humble and contrite in order to receive God's mercy. To fulfill the mission of Jesus the Christ of God, a mission of salvation based on nothing more than faith in Christ, and love for God and neighbor, we need only be truly contrite and humble ourselves before God and he will raise us from damnation.
Just think on these things and feel free to share your viewpoint. In the meantime though, I shall proceed slowly to develop upon these themes of avarice and greed, unkind and harmful words, blasphemy, and most important in the theme is the sin of pride.
The following is a full exerpt without alteration from the link below, explaining the sin of pride.
Sin Of Pride - The Sin of Sins
see the source at" http://www.allaboutgod.com/sin-of-pride.htm
The sin of pride is the sin of sins. It was this sin, we're told, which transformed Lucifer, an anointed cherub of God, the very "seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty,"
1 into Satan, the devil, the father of lies, the one for whom Hell itself was created.
2 We're warned to guard our hearts against pride lest we too "fall into the same condemnation as the devil."
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It was the sin of pride which first led Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis we read, "Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
4 And who do you think was that serpent of old who first introduced Eve to this sin of pride? It was none other than the devil himself,
5 eager to share his condemnation with others.
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) wrote, "'Pride is the commencement of all sin'
6 because it was this which overthrew the devil, from whom arose the origin of sin; and afterwards, when his malice and envy pursued man, who was yet standing in his uprightness, it subverted him in the same way in which he himself fell. For the serpent, in fact, only sought for the door of pride whereby to enter when he said, 'Ye shall be as gods.'"
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Sin Of Pride - Preoccupation With Self
The sin of pride is a preoccupation with self. It is thus very fitting that the middle letter in the word is "i." Pride is all about "me, myself, and I." So even as the word "pride" is centered upon an "i," the sin itself is also centered upon "I." We read of Lucifer's fall, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart:
'I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit."
8 Satan's enmity against God began with "I". And so it is with us. If you are preoccupied with yourself, you are suffering from the sin of pride.
One way to determine whether or not you are preoccupied with yourself is to evaluate your motives. Take the pursuit knowledge for example. If you study hard because that's what the Lord wants you to do and you're being obedient to Him, that's good. That's obedience to God. Or if you study hard because you want to become a teacher so that you can edify others and help them to grow, that's good too. That's love for others. But if you study hard solely to amass knowledge for yourself, just so you can say that you know more than everyone else, that's bad! Your focus is upon yourself and your own glory. That's preoccupation with self. That's pride. And if this is the case for you, not only are you already suffering from pride, you're setting yourself up to be totally consumed by it! The Apostle Paul wasn't joking when he said, "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies."
9 And anyone who is ever been there will tell you, knowledge for the wrong reasons (i.e. personal glory)
will lead to a proud heart and enmity against God.
Sin Of Pride - An Outline
The sin of pride is rightfully distinguished as the foremost among the seven "deadly sins," each of the seven equally as deadly (Proverbs 6:16-19), but none quite as notorious as this "sin of the devil."
10 We're going to look at this sin of sins: how it manifests itself in our thoughts and lives, what are its effects and how we are to fight against it taking hold in our hearts. We'll begin by looking at two people in history that committed the sin of pride and how they're portrayed in the Bible. We'll look at how pride manifested itself in their lives and we'll make some practical observations. Then we'll look at how pride can infect our own hearts and minds, and finally, we'll discuss how to combat the sin of pride with humility. To skip right to the practical application of pride and humility,
click here. We strongly recommend however that you read this short article in its entirety.
Footnotes:
- Ezekiel 28:12
- John 8:44, Matthew 25:41
- 1 Timothy 3:6
- Genesis 3:4-6
- Revelation 12:9; 20:2
- Augustine is here quoting from Ecclesiasticus 10:12-13, "The beginning of pride is when one departs from God, and his heart is turned away from his Maker. For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that has it shall pour out abomination…"
- Philip Schaff, ed., A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Volume 5 St. Augustin: Anti-pelagian Writings, chapter 33.
- Isaiah 14:12-15
- 1 Corinthians 8:1b
- The other six "deadly sins" are greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth.
Sin Of Pride - Nebuchadnezzar
The great Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, suffered from the sin of pride and lost his kingdom for it. His story is given to us so that we might learn our lesson from him (rather than having to learn it the hard way), the lesson being: God is quite able to humble the proud and more than happy to do so. No more than twelve months after being warned by Daniel the prophet of God's displeasure with him, Nebuchadnezzar looked out across the great city of Babylon and said in his pride, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?"
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While the words were still in his mouth, a voice spoke from heaven, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." And we read that at "that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws."
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Nebuchadnezzar was later given the opportunity to repent and upon doing so he was given back his kingdom by God's grace. This is what he learned through his ordeal: "At the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?' At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."
3 The lesson we are to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's experience is this: "those who walk in pride He is able to put down."
Sin Of Pride - Belshazzar
Nebuchadnezzar was extended God's grace and he repented of the sin of pride. His grandson however was not given the same opportunity. Perhaps that is because Nebuchadnezzar's experience was meant to serve as a lesson to us all, and Belshazzar, who knew of his grandfather's rebuke, refused to learn his grandfather's lesson. On the night of king Belshazzar's demise, Daniel the prophet stood before him and said, "'O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven.' …That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain."
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Footnotes:
- Daniel 4:30 (NASB)
- Daniel 4:30-33
- Daniel 4:34-37
- Daniel 5:18-23a, 30
Sin Of Pride - How Pride Works
By looking at the lives of these two men we can learn how the sin of pride might work in our own lives. Nebuchadnezzar, on the one hand, didn't acknowledge God for what He had given him, in this case the throne upon which he sat. He gave himself credit for his success and in doing so he compounded his sin by robbing God of the glory which He was due. Belshazzar, on the other hand, was so arrogant and foolish as to deliberately insult and provoke the God of universe. He defiled the vessels of gold and silver which had been dedicated to God by using them in a drunken orgy and he did so knowing full well how the Lord had rebuked his grandfather not many years before.
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From these two examples we see how pride can skew our perceptions of reality. In fact, pride must obscure the truth simply because the truth is often very humbling, something contrary to the sin of pride. Nebuchadnezzar's pride deceived him into thinking something that wasn't true: he believed that he had built the great Babylonian empire by his own wisdom and by his might when in fact it was God who "made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings."
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King Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had the exact same problem. He gave himself credit for his victories, saying in his heart, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; also I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasuries; so I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; and there was no one who moved his wing, nor opened his mouth with even a peep."
3 And yet it was God who gave Sennacherib his success because God chose to use him to exercise His righteous indignation upon certain godless nations. But Sennacherib did not give God the glory due His name, but instead, like Belshazzar he exalted himself against God and insulted Him to His face. And just like Belshazzar, it cost Sennacherib his life. The Lord declared, "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, and against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, to seize the spoil, to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Yet he does not mean so, nor does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and cut off not a few nations. …I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks."
4 God showed His awesome power, wiping out 185,000 Assyrian troops in one night. Sennacherib fled in fear to his capital city, Nineveh, where he was slain in the temple of his false god, Nisroch.
Belshazzar also suffered from a skewed perception of reality. His pride gave him a deluded sense of security. He felt safe upon his throne, behind his high walls; safe enough to mock the God of the universe! But he was a fool to think that he could exalt himself against his Maker.
And so we see that pride can blind us to the reality of our situation. We also see that pride can lead us into further sin against God. Pride led Nebuchadnezzar to rob God of the glory due His name while pride led Belshazzar to insult God to His face. But God will not be mocked by man nor will He be robbed by us. "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! …You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me,"
5 and "do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."
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Sin Of Pride - A Dangerous Enemy
The sin of pride is such a dangerous enemy simply because it pits you against your Maker, and God is an enemy to be feared! "Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world [that is, whoever chooses to embrace the 'lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life'*] makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"
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* "For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world," (1 John 2:16) a world which was, like Lucifer, created absolutely perfect, but has since, like Satan, departed from its Creator God and has created for itself its own abominable ways.
Footnotes:
Sin Of Pride - How It Manifests Itself In Our Lives
Here are some of the ways the sin of pride might manifest itself in your life. We've already seen from the lives of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar how pride can simply be an over-estimation of one's ability or even one's security. It can also be an over-estimation of one's righteousness or overall self-worth. For example, if you happen to think that you're worth more to God than some other person, you've fallen victim to the sin of pride. It's distorted your view of reality, because the truth of the matter is, "there is no partiality with God,"
1 "nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands."
2 Or if on the other hand you have a habit of looking down on others because you think you're more righteous than they are, consider the parable which Jesus gave to those "who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else:"
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"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
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Sin Of Pride - Looking Down On Others
If you look down on others because you surpass them in virtue, knowledge, skill, wealth, or for any reason at all, you have fallen victim to the sin of pride. And not only that, you have, like Belshazzar, insulted the Creator Himself. For "he who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker."
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What gives you the right to look down on others? And why would you boast of your skills or abilities? "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
6 Be careful not to take credit for God's work in your life. "Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
7 Never presume to say to yourself, "My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth,"
8 but instead, "remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth."
9 He is "the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways."
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It was God who gave you your natural skills and abilities, and he didn't do it so that you can despise others. Believe it or not, God gave you your skills and abilities so that you can
serve others. That's the kind of Person He is and that's what He wants from us: for us to love each other. He Himself came, not to be served but to serve. Jesus taught, "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
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Sin Of Pride - Love One Another
God despises the sin of pride especially because it's totally contrary to His purposes for us. He wants us to live by His example and to serve each other in love. And He's given us the most beautiful example. Not only did He die for us, He lives for us as well. The Apostle John tells the story how one night Jesus "rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. …So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.'"
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Therefore, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"
13 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
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Footnotes:
- Romans 2:11; cf. Deuteronomy 10:17; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Acts 10:34-35; Ephesians 6:9
- Job 34:19
- Luke 18:9 (CEV)
- Luke 18:9-14
- Proverbs 17:5; cf. Proverbs 14:31
- 1 Corinthians 4:7
- Psalm 100:3
- Deuteronomy 8:17
- Deuteronomy 8:18
- Daniel 5:23
- Matthew 20:25-28; cf. Mark 10:42-45
- John 13:3-5, 12-17
- Philippians 2:3-8 (NIV)
- 1 John 4:11
Sin Of Pride - How To Fight It
So how do we fight against the sin of pride? First we need to recognize that we have a problem. And this might be the hardest part, because as we have seen pride skews our perception of reality. It lies to us. It says to us, "You don't have a problem with pride; you're not being proud, you're just being honest with yourself! You
are better than everyone else and you
deserve all the glory.
You've established yourself by
your wisdom and
your might. You, you, you…" And it feels good. It's hard to see the truth when your own heart is lying to you - wooing you with approval. It's hard to stop and think for a minute, "No, I'm not worth more than anyone else, God loves us all the same and His opinion is the only one that really matters. And as for my glory, to God be all praise and glory! I didn't establish myself by my wisdom and might, I've just used the gifts which God gave me to do that for which He gave them to me in the first place! I am an unprofitable servant; I've only done that which was my duty to do."
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It's hard to humble yourself like that when you're stuck in pride. And it's hard to see the truth when you're lying to yourself. So you're going to need help. The Lord says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
2 Your heart might be able to trick you, but it can't trick God!
So the very first thing to do is to get on your knees and pray. Say with David, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
3 Ask God for mercy. Cry out with David, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
4 By asking for God's help you're actually humbling yourself before Him and God will honor that. The Scripture says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." This isn't just a warning to the proud; it's a promise to the humble. If you humble yourself before God in prayer, God will pour His grace upon you. And while sin might be able to overcome you, it's no match for God's awesome power. So pray. Pray, pray, pray. That's the first step. By praying you're, not only are you petitioning God to intercede on your behalf, which He'll do by His grace if you're sincere, you're actually combating the sin of pride yourself by humbling yourself before God, humility being the opposite of pride. It's like fighting fire with water.
The next thing to do after God starts to show you areas where you're proud is to fight it mentally. When you experience a sudden pang of pride and you recognize it for what it is, mentally expose it. Admit to yourself that you're being proud and ask the Lord to forgive you. Say, "I'm just being proud; Lord, please forgive me."
The third and final thing to do is to tell your brothers and sisters in Christ that you're struggling with pride and ask them to pray for you. "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
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Sin Of Pride - In Summary
So in summary, the sin of pride manifests itself in selfish motives, an exaggerated ego, a low opinion of others, and disrespect for God. It can lead to other sins against God. For example: robbing God of the glory He is due, and it can and does distort your perception of reality. We fight pride by humbling ourselves before God in prayer, asking Him to reveal the pride hidden in our hearts, acknowledging and repenting of pride when we see it in ourselves, and by being transparent with our Christian family for the sake of accountability and prayer.
In closing here are a few passages of Scripture dealing specifically with pride:
"The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." (Psalms 10:4)
"Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar." (Psalm 138:6)
"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate." (Proverbs 8:13)
"When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)
"By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom." (Proverbs 13:10)
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)
"Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5)
"A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor." (Proverbs 29:23)
Footnotes:
- Luke 17:10
- Jeremiah 17:9-10
- Psalm 139:23-24
- Psalm 51:1-2
- James 5:16
- Daniel 5
- Acts 17:26
- Isaiah 10:13-14
- Isaiah 10:5-7, 12b
- Malachi 3:8-9
- Galatians 6:7
- James 4:4c-6; cf. Proverbs 3:34 (LXX)
