We can’t be challenged in an attitude of humility without discussing pride. When you think of pride what comes to mind? Perhaps you think about something you were successful at that made you proud. Or maybe you were involved in someone else’s accomplishment that you were proud of.
An attitude of unhealthy or negative pride is when you take those achievements and give yourself too much credit for them. You want to be honored and esteemed so you brag and over-exaggerate your successes to others. Pride wants to intentionally show people that you are better than others.
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Pride becomes our downfall when the middle letter in this word
“I” is overemphasized.
An attitude of humility which is a lack of pride, allows us to become the person God desires us to be. However, pride does the opposite because it is dissatisfaction with what God wants you to be. Pride prevents you from becoming the person God desires you to be because you are too busy aspiring to have control of your life. It places your confidence in yourself instead of God.
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Do you know who this excerpt is describing?
You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
Every precious stone adorned you, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. Your conduct was perfect from the day you were created. (Ezekiel 28:12-16)
I was shocked to find out this was a description of Satan/Lucifer in the Bible. Satan took the “I” in pride to another level.
You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. (Ezekiel 28:17).
His perfection, wisdom and beauty went to his head. He was too impressed with himself and began to desire the honor and glory that only belongs to God. Satan wanted to be in control like God. Pride was the sin that caused Satan’s downfall and got him kicked out of heaven. If you are not careful, an attitude of pride will cause your downfall like Satan.
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Jesus resisted an attitude of pride and chose humility because he knew humility got the attention of God. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can have an attitude of humility like Jesus.
- Think about a time when you were proud of yourself.
- Think about a time when you made God proud.
Scripture References:
Philippians 2:1-11; James 4:6; Proverbs 8:13; 11:2; 16:15; Jeremiah 9:23; Isaiah 14:14-15
Reminders:
- Post a comment to the blog page. If you joined the Be-Attitudes Nation Facebook Group post a comment and interact with others.
- Complete the free Happiness Assessment to find out if you have a healthy attitude. We will refer to this assessment during the challenge because the results provide an indication of your attitude.
1 comment
I can’t say I’ve ever been a prideful person but I always check on a neighbor of mine that’s up in more age than I to see if there’s anything she might need or just to talk. Especially since she recently lost her only child to a long illness. When it comes to pride I always think of something my dad use to tell us kids, “Pride is a sin.” Then as children we didn’t think about it but now as an adult it makes a lot of sense.
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