Pride. The killer of Christians

The phrase "pride goes before a fall" is a paraphrase of a passage from the book of Proverbs, in the Hebrew and Christian Bible.

In Christianity, pride (also vanity or arrogance) is the essentially competitive and excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God, or the worth which God sees in others; for example, Psalm 10 verse 4:

`In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.`


Pride, Ego & Arrogance
How to Keep them at Bay


"Hypocrisy, pride, self-conceit, wrath, arrogance and ignorance belong, O Partha, to him who is born to the heritage of the demons.”
Why do I wish to talk about pride and arrogance? Because in my opinion, while pride harms only the proud man, arrogance due to overbearing pride brings contempt for others. An arrogant man is often rude and very fond of offending his friends, relatives, colleagues and everyone else who comes in contact with him.

Pride
Pride rears its head even in the most unsuspected corners. One man may be proud that he is proud, and another, proud that he is not proud. While one may be proud that he is a non-believer in God, another may be proud of his devotion to God. Learning may render one man proud, and yet ignorance can also be the source of pride for another man.

Ego
Ego is nothing but pride in its inflated form. For example, an arrogant man is unduly or excessively proud of his wealth, status, learning, etc. He shows ego in spirit of conduct. He is unwarrantably overbearing and haughty. His head is swollen like the swelling caused by dropsy. He thinks very highly of himself and poorly of others. He claims much for himself and concedes little to others.

Arrogance
Arrogance is an absorbing sense of one’s own greatness. It is a feeling of one’s superiority over others. In the presence of superiors, overweening pride manifests itself as arrogance. Pride is too self-satisfied to care for seeing the good in others and in praising them.

Vanity
Another by-product of pride is vanity, which intensely craves admiration and applause. It is undue assumption of self-importance. It often results in open and rude expression of contempt and hostility. It quickly takes for granted superiority and privilege, which others are slow to concede.

Why is it Difficult to Ward Off the Ego?
However, if you think pride or ego is easy to get rid of, think again! The play of the ego pervades our whole life. The ego does not go away by merely substituting some set phrase for “I”. As long as the body is alive and the mind functions in and through the body, what is known as the ego or the personality will arise and exist. This ego or pride is not a permanent and unquestionable reality. It is a temporary phenomenon; it is ignorance that invests it with permanency. It is a concept; it is ignorance that elevates it to status of reality. Only enlightenment can bring you this wisdom.

The Underlying Paradox
How does enlightenment arise? How does the realization “God is the real doer and we are just His means” get instilled in our hearts? I am sure you will agree that until this realization arises in our minds and inner intelligence, we cannot get rid of the ego.


May God Bless You!
So, what should we do to exorcise the devil of pride (ego) and arrogance? In my opinion, only by the grace of God one can be watchful of the presence of pride in all our actions. How does one earn God’s grace? You cannot earn it because that will again involve your ego.

(article found on About.com)

Question: "What does the Bible say about pride?"

Answer: God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13). The Bible tells us that, “pride brings destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to live it up among the rich and famous (Proverbs 16:18-19). The Message paraphrase of Proverbs 16:5 goes on to say that, “God cannot stomach arrogance or pretense; believe me, He’ll put those upstarts in their place.”

Throughout scripture we are continuously told about the consequences of pride. Satan was cast out of heaven because of pride (Isaiah 14:12-15). He had the selfish determination to replace God Himself as the rightful ruler of this world. But Satan will be cast down to hell in the final judgment of God. For those who rise up in defiance against God, there is nothing ahead for them but disaster, because “I will rise up against them” is the promise of the Lord. He will cut them off (Isaiah 14:22).

James 4:6 tells us that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. A sharp contrast exists between worldly and divine jealousy; men want revenge, but He gives more grace. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and His way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The Message paraphrase of James 4:5-6 has it that, “He’s a fiercely jealous lover. And what He gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

Pride has kept many people from accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Refusing to admit sin and acknowledging that in our own strength we cannot do anything to inherit eternal life has been a stumbling block for prideful people. We are not to boast about ourselves, but if we want to boast, then we are to proclaim the glories of God. What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference (2 Corinthians 10:13).

Why is pride so sinful? Pride is giving yourself the credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and giving it to yourself. Pride is essentially self-worship. Anything we accomplish in this world would not have been possible were it not for God enabling and sustaining us. That is why we give God the glory...for He alone deserves it.


(article http://www.gotquestions.org/pride-Bible.html
What does the Bible say about pride? )

Pride is a big killer. Too many people fall into it and hurt themselves and others.

I see it all the time. And it makes me very sad. Like, it is their way or no way. What about each one of us has our own way that works for us? Don't shove it down our throats. Nice pictures.

Faith mixed with humility, love, patience, and more are true gifts from God. I fear boasters in the word. The word is the truth and may the truth set us free.

Reading through the above Posts on "Pride", it seems that the most dangerous consequence of Pride--JUDGMENTALISM--has been overlooked. This has been the stunter of my spiritual growth since birth--any my struggle against it continues as we speak.

All i can say about my "progress" in this area is that i have become aware of my great sin in judging others and have been able--to a small degree--to cut short the time i spent ruminating on my critiques of the spiritual walks of others. JUDGMENTALISM, in and of itself is, unfortunately, alive and well within me.

Knowing our Lord's particular hatred of this sin and His strong condemnation of those who practice it, my lack of progress in stopping my judgment of others is of particular concern to me and, i am sure, the reason why i am still stuck on the bottom rung of the "Ladder of Divine Ascent."

Anyone have any advice on putting this sin to death once and for all?

IN CHRIST,
ephraim

What has really helped me with judgementalism is this.....Most of my life I was always judged, from a small child even through now. I know how it feels to be judged and have done little...(Though as a teen through early 20's I know I did a lot) to have people behave and think as they did and do. I hate the feeling. Think of how you would feel. Would you want others to feel that knowing what you think inside or out? That has kept my judging to a limit all my life. Plus when I get that urge, I think...."Do not judge lest ye be judged."

People live lives are far different than what we see. They have problems we do not know about. Maybe they are hardened on the outside and soft and kind on the inside, or they lived harsh realities we can't imagine. How can we judge, knowing what we have gone through ourselves....when we were at our lowest and the gossip spread like wildfire....how did we feel? Especially when the gossip had nothing to do with what was really happening.

All of that has stayed with me since I was very young. I refused to judge, gossip about others...though very tempting quite often, and am guilty of "blakia" thoughts and words sometimes. In which I immediately ask God to take those evil thoughts from me. (Especially on the beach! lol) But that had been a focus on me since I was small....because I was that "Strange little girl" on the block who lived in the "haunted house" etc....then was in foster care many times, and eventually adopted. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone! So I promised I would not do that to anyone....even though it sometimes can be a struggle. There is Always a STORY behind every face....

I think what helped me with being non-judging was watching people. Observing them and imagining their lives. (It was like a game for me when I was young...) Some looked so sad, others so mean, others so cold, heartless, others so kind....and then they would open their mouths, and what I envisioned so often seemed right on, and on other occasions I was so off base in my imagination that it took everything I had not to laugh! But I never opened my mouth or shared my thoughts because that is just "Too weird!" lol

For me it was like training....I hated to be judged, so I did so much not to judge. I had to fight it with so much. I came to Greece and all everyone did, especially my husband's family did was judge me. I was a woman with a tattoo, smoked cigarettes and 2 kids from a previous relationship. Ooooh the gossip. It has taken almost 7 years for anyone to get to know me, and I have gotten a few apologies from certain people on their judgements. In which I highly respect them for. For they allowed themselves to get to know me...who I am and admitted that I was nothing like they were told.
Being that has happened pretty much my whole life....I respect those who have the guts to speak truth and not hide in the back ground talking about nothing....and making up everything from judgements. What is inside, always surfaces. It is a battle you can win. Pray to God for help. He will test you, and put you in situations in which you can choose to judge or not to. It is all up to you.

Sorry for the novel. I pray that it will help you!

God Bless