Pride

"But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest." (Luke 22:21-24)

Pride is one of the greatest downfalls that can beset a follower of Christ. Scripture describes it as the sin which transformed Lucifer, once an annointed Cherub, "seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" ( Ezekiel 28:12) into the Devil, the one for whom Hell was created (Matthew 25:41).

It was the sin of Pride that caused Eve to disobey God's command to not eat the forbidden fruit, a sense of pride instilled by the Devil himself, wishing to share his condemnation with others, and especially with God's most treasured creation (Genesis 3). At the Tower of Babel, God acted to halt the building of the Tower of Babel, a monument created not to honour God, but themselves (Genesis 11). David's pride and arrogance regarding his position led him to believe he could do as he pleased, even to commit murder in order to satisy his own lust, and God humbled him for it (2 Samuel 11 &12). It was through pride that Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom by God's decree (Daniel 4:30). There are countless examples in Scripture of human pride, and is clearly something God detests. It is a sin that detracts from God's glory and places that glory in the lap of Man, who is unworthy of it.

We see a shocking example of pride in Luke 22. In this passage, Jesus has for the first time revealed that He will be betrayed by one of His own, one of those who have followed Him from the very beginning of his ministry. Think about it. You travel with Jesus, you hear His words, you see His miracles, yet one of you will come against Him? How could that be? The apostles are first shocked that any of them could possibly be capable of such betrayal, yet almost immediately, in the very next verse, begin to argue amongst themselves as to whom was the greatest and most faithful of them. They had lost sight of what Jesus had just told them and allowed pride to creep-in and take hold of their faith in Christ - who was still sitting there! Pride is not something that is limited to non-believers, it can affect and motivate the actions of even believers, on both the conscious and subconscious levels. On the subconscious level in particular, it can prove to be the most damaging. In this passage, the apostles began to question who could betray Jesus, but allowed a pride in their own 'spirituality' to overcome the self-questioning that every follower of Christ should seek of himself. The sin of pride is a preoccupation with self, and not the things of God. Here, the apostles were more concerned with protecting their good standing in the faith, in the eyes of both themselves and others. It was motivated by selfish interests, despite its cloaking in 'faithfulness.'

Pride is not always blatant, but can often be quite subtle. We can easily fool ourselves into thinking we are acting and serving God out of pure and loving motivations, yet when we become truly introspective and examine our feelings regarding any particular thing, we can sometimes find pride lurking there. We are warned to guard our hearts against pride, lest we "fall into the same condemnation as the devil" (1 Timothy 3:6). We are instructed instead to humble ourselves. Notice that when the apostles began arguing as to who was the greatest of Jesus' apostles, Jesus did not rise-up and yell, "Hey! Did you even hear what I just said???" or simply demand that they listen to Him instead of quarreling. Instead, He tells them "he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve" (verse 26). He recognises their pride, and instead instructs them to practice humility.

Humility does not refer to denying your self-worth, but rather, it is keeping God in His correct place in our thinking. To not exalt oneself above God, in any manner. It is to affirm God as Creator and King and Lord over all things, including ourselves. It is to acknowledge God as the source of all things, including ourselves - when we choose to follow Him, it is not us working to be more like Him. This is impossible, we are fallen creatures with sinful hearts. The gift of Salvation allows God to work THROUGH us, transforming our minds and deeds into those which are pleasing to His Holiness. When we get prideful and begin acting out of self-interest, even if the results of our labours are good, our motivations displease Him. We do not act out of love for Him, but out of love and admiration of ourselves. The glorification of God must always be foremost. Rebirth in Christ means just that - losing our own life, to gain His.

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:24)

Barukh atah Adonai Elohaynu Melekh haOlam (Blessed be the Lord our God, King of the Universe)

In Christ’s Love and Service,

Sister Rebecca, OIC Minister from the Australian Outback