To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. ~ Proverbs 8:13
Some of my counseling lately has dealt with the issue of pride. Do not be mistaken; pride is not something with which only folks struggling with personal issues contend. Pride is something all of us have, and God hates it. It tops the list of the seven deadly sins in Proverbs 6:16-19. The Old Testament word most frequently used as the concept for pride (like “haughty eyes”) is the Hebrew noun gāʾôn, “height.” If my Logos dictionary is correct, the intellection of pride occurs some forty-six times in the Old Testament. Most of the use refers negatively to pride, but in some cases, it refers to God’s “majesty” (e.g., Lev. 26:19; Isa. 11:13), and in others to literal height (e.g., Job 38:11; Jer. 12:5; Zech. 11:3). As this noun shows, pride is often mentioned negatively but can be good when it is rightly directed.[1] Unfortunately, we rarely express pride righteously. Our expression of pride is almost always selfish, which gets us in trouble.
So, the Old Testament concept of pride is that of height. The word picture is that of one who thinks of himself above everyone, even God. Martin Manser states that the negative biblical theme of pride is “arrogance or delusions of greatness on account of one’s achievements, status or possessions. It is a great evil because it involves pretending to a greatness and glory that belong rightly to God alone.”[2] William Williams would agree, “Pride refers to an unwarranted attitude of confidence. While pride can have a positive connotation of self-worth or boasting, it is often used in Scripture to refer to an unhealthy elevated view of one’s self, abilities, or possessions.”[3]
A prideful person will cast “haughty eyes” at God’s commandments and believe they do not apply to their life. A prideful person will know that coveting another man’s wife is a commandment not to be broken but will think he wants more than God’s desires and pursue the wife anyway. David examples this in Second Samuel chapter eleven. David’s pride kept him from leading his men in battle against Ammon. It led him to sloth and meandering on his rooftop, where he saw Bathsheba bathing. And his pride caused him to take Bathsheba from her husband Uriah to sleep with him. David’s pride worked in his heart in such a way that he thought, “hey, I am the king. I have generals to fight for me. I can stay back and not do what God told me to do as king. I can take another man’s wife, although I know better than anybody what His law says. I am the king of my life and am not accountable to anyone.” Of course, God sends Nathan, the prophet, to correct David’s error (2 Sam. 12:1-14).
The New Testament also speaks about pride. William Williams concisely explains:
In the NT, as in the OT, the concept of pride is often easier to recognize through context than by searching for any one word. During his ministry, Jesus often confronted the pride of the religious leaders of the day (e.g., Luke 14:7–11; 18:9–14), not because they were religious, but because they took solace in their religiosity rather than in God. Paul and other NT writers reinforce the concept by speaking against pride while admonishing believers to live in humility because of the gracious salvation of Christ (1 Cor 1:26–31; 1 John 2:15–17).[4]
It is interesting that the word for pride in the New Testament, hyperēphania, is used by our Lord Jesus only once, and the adjective “proud” only once in the Gospels (Luke 1:51). However, pride is classed as one of the things which defile a person (Mark 7:22). Jesus’s teachings against the religious leaders’ prideful hypocrisy makes it repugnant to many believers. When a Christian considers our Lord’s example in humility, from His incarnation to death (Phil. 2:1-10), Jesus epitomizes the life of emptying oneself and taking the form of a servant. Kerr concludes, “Henceforth lowliness of station and self-forgetting passivity were consecrated by the Divine example.”[5]
The question then becomes, “How do I get rid of pride in my life?” As stated above, pride tops the seven deadly sins, but it is not unlike any other evil to kill. Pride can be defeated, first and foremost, by our trust in Jesus Christ alone. Of course, this means we must have something other than pride for trust, right? If we try to trust by ourselves, pride will get in the way and tell us we do not need Jesus. Pride is a trust-killer. If you do not believe me, consider your last argument with your spouse. I guarantee it was because pride killed a trust factor. It may have been because she did not load the dishwasher the way you wanted, but the argument occurred because your pride made you not trust her to load the dishwasher her way.
Thankfully, God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5; Psa. 138:6). Humility is the antithesis of pride. Where pride is the trust-killer, humility is the pride-killer. God loves His children so much that He gives the grace to believe in Jesus (Eph. 2:4-7), and humility is the key to man’s communion with Him (Isa. 57:15). God, as the highest type of humility, exemplified in His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, the foundation upon which our humility lies. Charles Hodge rightly said, “Christian humility does not consist in denying what there is of good in us; but in an abiding sense of ill-desert, and in the consciousness that what we have of good is due to the grace of God.”[6] Humility causes us to believe and behave as faithful and obedient children of God rather than selfishly (2 Chron. 7:14).
Therefore, if we are going to put to death the sin of pride, we must be sanctified by the help of the Holy Spirit (Eze. 36:26-27; Titus 3:5) in humility. Jerry Bridges notes, “Humility begins with God’s grace and recognizes that the good in us in the form of Christlike character, and the good done by us in service to God and other people, is totally undeserved on our part and is due to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But humility does not deny the evidences of His gracious work in us and through us.”[7] Let us prepare ourselves to reject the prideful pleas of self-righteousness and humbly submit to our Savior, who has shown us what is good (Micah 6:8).
[1] William A. Williams, “Pride,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
[2] Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
[3] Williams.
[4] Williams.
[5] W. S. Kerr, “Pride,” ed. James Hastings, A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels: Aaron–Zion (Edinburgh; New York: T&T Clark; Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1906), 414.
[6] Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1959), 317.
[7] Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2008), 232-233.
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