"Let another man praise you, and not of your own mouth; A stranger and not your own lips." (Proverbs 27:2) 

God’s Word couldn’t be more clear that Satan is behind pride and he loves for people to mistake the pride of life for ‘the good life’ of wealth and success:

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?” But He gives grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you……” (James 4:4-8a)

A parallel to this is found in 1John 2:16, for we know that Satan is the god of this world:

“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

Believers who abide in pride live to regret that countenance before God, if not while they are still in the body, then when standing before the Lord ‘on the last day,’ as we read in Proverbs 11:2--

“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”

And it is also clear that humility is the opposite of pride or we can say humility is on the other side of pride, as we read in Proverbs 29:23--

“A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

Moreover, between these two verses in Proverbs, we can also discern that pride comes with a whole host of spiritual negativity, while humility brings honor, wisdom, and spiritual progress. Furthermore, when believers abide in pride/their own glory, they separate themselves from the Presence of God, as we read in 1Corinthians 1:28-29--

“and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

And, when we exalt ourselves, we are patting ourselves on the back, so to speak, when God is the only one who can grant approval to any man, as we learn through both Paul and James:

“But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” For not he who commends himself is approved, but who the Lord commends.” (2Corinthians 10:17-18)

“Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.” (James 1:9-10)

And, not only that, but in Proverbs, as well as in the Book of Daniel we learn that God abhors pride and will put an end to those who abide in it:

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate:” (Proverbs 8:13)

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” (Daniel 4:37)

But when we resist pride and abide in the LORD, we find great joy in living in holiness:

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” (1Timothy 6:17)

BUT there is another side to this issue of pride, what about when we feel pride for those around us that thrive in Christ Jesus; crucifying their flesh for His Glory? Isn’t that much different than the pride we feel in ourselves? YES, for when we exalt others and express our pride when they overcome the compulsion of sin, work with the Holy Spirit to grow in holiness, we are abiding in humility, because without humility we cannot give someone else credit for anything, even spiritually speaking. Humility is of GOD, and without humility we cannot so much as give someone else a compliment, because we are too busy looking for someone who will compliment us on our spiritual growth. All we can focus on is who can give to me, instead of asking God, ‘Who can I exalt today Lord?’

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”  (Philippians 2:3-5)

For our boast is in the LORD, which requires humility. And through humility, we also abide in lovingkindness:

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” (Colossians 3:12)

“Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” (Romans 12:16)

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

All human beings instinctively know that lifting up others requires the pushing down of the self:

Jesus First, then

Others, then

Yourself

And then we experience fullness of JOY! 

NKJV

Linzy is a certified Bible Counsellor, with countless republications on her viewers blogs, Bible Studies, Ezines and the like. Her portfolio includes, non-fiction articles, short stories for all ages, and Christian poetry.