Seek TRUTH - Choose LIFE
PRIDE
What is pride?
Pride is a lie to self that one tries to lift up above others through deception and violence. It can be very subtle at first but sooner or later pride will bear its fruit. Pride is what caused Satan to be cast out of heaven for infringing on God’s authority. In a way it was blasphemy against God (Ezekiel 28:16-17). Being cast out Satan went to deceive Adam and Eve into sin through subtle suggestion. He lied to Eve about God’s warning for disobedience and implanted a fleshly desire to be like God. When Adam and Eve gave into the temptation they realized they have broken God’s commandment and
were cast out of paradise into a world that was cursed by God for their rebellion against His will. It was pride that manifested a desire to be more and have more than what God gave. Pride brings down the wisest and hurts the strongest. It ruins relationships and degrades society, it brings forth rebellion against God and this sin brings forth death. It turns us into enemies of God and turns God into our enemy. It is the beginning of all wickedness, evil and sin. God is holy and sin cannot be in His presence.
Looking at the ten commandments we can identify how pride is at the core of sin.
1.”You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3). Pride makes “the self” the god of their life who does not answer to anyone and serves only themselves. God’s word is neglected and ego rules over their life.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, —any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:4). Creating an idol to bow down to is a direct defiance to make a god suited to please the ego and make it comfortable. This may be a statue of stone, gold, silver or other metal. This can be an icon of a dead person or a mythological being. This can be nature or the universe that people praise and attribute divinity for giving life.
3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7). Using God’s name in place of a cuss word to express disgust is a dishonor for God because the ego rejects God’s authority. Carrying out selfish desires through deceit and violence in the name of God is an abomination to God.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8). Sabbath is God’s weekly divine appointment for us to seek Him and improve our relationship with Him. Ignoring the Sabbath to pursue our work schedules and selfish desires pushes us away from God’s grace and blessing for our lives. On the sabbath we appreciate God’s creation, strengthen our relationship with God, our family and any strangers we might meet.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12). Honor includes obedience to parents through respect - no matter who they are. Disobedience to parents is a result of placing parental authority below personal ego to gratify the self.
6. “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) When Jesus came He taught that even getting angry with someone would be as culpable as murder. (Matthew 5:22). Anger or hatred is a precursor to premeditated murder. This sin is rooted in pride and tries to remove the person from their life to gratify the ego and lift it up above others.
7. “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) but Jesus said that whoever looks with lust has already committed adultery in their heart (Matthew 5:28). Adultery and lust is a sin that tries to satisfy the ego because of pride.
8. “You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) The one who steals seeks to do so because of pride because they have lifted themselves up and are not willing to pay the fair price.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16). Every lie is a sin (1 John 5:17). People lie to appear more than what they are, to escape justice, to gain something of value to gratify the ego and protect the self.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”(Exodus 20:17). Covetousness may seem harmless yet it seeks to gratify the self though lying, stealing, adultery and other sins. Some who are ambitious are actually covetous because they are not satisfied with what they have. Pursuing a better means of living is not a sin but when these pursuits are only to satisfy and feed the ego and when they ruin relationships with people and God - then it’s a problem.
The origin of evil
As we live our lives we encounter that something is inherently wrong with the world we live in. There are crimes that go without just punishment and good deeds gone unrewarded. (Ecclesiastes 8:14). Even those people who deny that there is a God will not deny that there is evil in the world. There is great suffering, injustice, corruption and eventually death of all living things. And as much as we are used to seeing death and suffering we inherently know it is wrong. But this was not always like this.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, and it was good. God made all things including man, woman and angels - who are spiritual beings. One of these beings who was closest to God manifested a desire to be just like God. In his rebellion against God this angel was cast out of heaven. From having a title Lucifer - the light bearer he lost that honor and became Satan - the adversary (Isaiah 14:12-16). In his downfall one third of angels in his support were also cast out (Revelation 12:4,9).
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. - (Ephesians 6:12)
Seeing God’s creation he sought to corrupt it to offend God (1 Peter 5:8) He implanted an idea into the minds of mankind that they can be just like God (Genesis 3:5). As a result mankind that was created in the image of God was corrupted by Satan and we now face the consequences of our forefathers. Pride is a lie to self that one tries to lift up above others through deception and violence. It can be very subtle at first but sooner or later pride will bear its fruit. Pride is what caused Satan to be cast out of heaven for infringing on God’s authority. In a way it was blasphemy against God (Ezekiel 28:16-17). Being cast out Satan went to deceive Adam and Eve into sin through subtle suggestion. He lied to Eve about God’s warning for disobedience and implanted a fleshly desire to be like God. When Adam and Eve gave into the temptation they realized they have broken God’s commandment and were cast out of paradise into a world that was cursed by God for their rebellion against His will. It was pride that manifested a desire to be more and have more than what God gave.
Every war is a spiritual war - it is ultimately a battle of good against evil. This evil is the devil and his evil spirits that rise up to deceive and destroy humanity by any means possible. Evil is the intention that becomes an act to destroy God’s order and creation. This evil is a result of sinful nature.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
Pride is the root of all sins and a lie to self to gratify the ego within. Lie is a tool that leads to sin and evil. A lie deviates from the truth and perverts it. Satan cannot create anything like God can. Everything he creates is a counterfeit and we are constantly surrounded by them. Every vital truth has a counterfeit for it - a lie. What does this look like?
The ten commandments expose our lack of love for God and for our neighbor - and expose our sin driven by pride. Pride is the most subtle force of evil that brought forth destruction to humanity for thousands of years. It brings forth EVIL which is: manipulation to uplift the “self” at expense of others and in defiance of God’s will. Pride blinds judgment and corrupts wisdom, brings down the wisest and hurts the strongest. It ruins relationships and degrades society, it brings forth rebellion against God and this sin brings forth death. It turns us into enemies of God and turns God into our enemy.
God has blessed us, each one accordingly. Each person will give an account to God of how they used and invested that which God gave them: life time, health, mind, intellect, friends, family, resources and opportunities. Do our gifts from God satisfy only our ego or are they a blessing to the people around us Do we attribute our blessing as ours or as blessings that God provides to praise Him though gratitude, love and humility? Pride is that sinful nature we inherited from our forefathers in the garden of Eden. They wanted to be like gods, live on their own terms and submit to no one. Not only did they manifest pride through their deception by the devil but have become mortal as well.
Sin is a horrible disease that corrupts our bodies through disease, aging and eventually death. Every single person has pride to some degree and has enough to commit sin. Whether they commit all sins or just one - it is enough to be condemned by God for eternity. No sin shall ever come into God’s presence to abide there and so that is why we all need our Savior Jesus Christ. Who offered redemption and through our faith in His sacrifice for our sin we are free from condemnation and are adopted to be God’s children. Read more (Resurrection)
We have to daily commit to God and daily captivate and suppress our ego so God can use us. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6). God gives to whomever He wants, God takes away in due time. All is temporary and all will fade away. We live on borrowed time, everything we are and own is due to God’s blessing. We are dust and to dust we shall return.
“Mankind, He has told each of you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)