Sometimes it is good to stop and take a close internal examination of who you really are. Start with the good points; they will be less painful. Make a list of your positive character traits. In the next column, make a list of your negative characteristics. This will take some serious and deeply honest introspection. Don’t look at who you would like to be. Look at who you are right now. One trait that may appear in the negative column is that of pride. I know it may be hard to admit, but you have it, I have it, everyone has it. The problem does not surface, usually, until it goes from just its existence in your life to when it begins to affect our relationships and how we relate to the Lord God.
Pride is something that will sooner or later catch up to you. Given enough time, if not dealt with, pride will cause some devastating outcome. A mother whale said to her baby whale, “When you get to the surface and start to blow, that’s when you get harpooned.” That pride that you have will one day blow your cover of the cool, calm, collected type you may try to convey.
The Bible has some strong words to warn you against your pride. “Pride comes before destruction” (Prov. 16:18). Pride will make you fall and fall hard you will. Just look at Saul. Before he was king, he was humble, good looking, had the stature of a warrior, and was in the eyes of all the Israelites their perfect choice for a leader. Not long after Saul became king, pride set in. Numerous examples from the Bible and from your daily life confirm the supreme relevancy of this verse.
One of the things I like so much about the Scriptures is that it not only points out problems to avoid, but remedies when performed to restore us again. The book of James is such a practical epistle telling you how to live your life to the fullest here on planet earth. Look at what he tells you to do to either avoid pride or to eradicate it once you have done it: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (4:6). That is it. To get rid of pride in your life you need to exercise humility. Now, that does not mean you become a doormat for others to walk all over you. It means you have a right view of whom you are in Christ and live to glorify Him, not yourself.
Let’s annihilate pride from your life and replace it with some Godly humility. Right now is a good time to begin!
