I’m Struggling With Pride

We have small children so that means that they have a fairly small vocabulary. Before having our family Bible study, I realized that we were going to be reading a passage that dealt with pride and humility. One of the statements said, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6b NKJV). I realized that my sons did not know what pride and humility actually were . I explained to them how when we are proud we think we are more important than others, but when we are humble we care about what others want instead of always thinking we have to have our own way.
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That conversation reminded me of how easy it is to be proud- to think that I am the most important person in the world. I remember a friend who used to say that he looked out for himself because no one else would. I found that strange because I really did care about him and was even willing to get the shorter end of the stick to help him. Sadly he ended up alienating a number of people by living out his attitude of pride.
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It is a lot easier for me to see pride in my friend than it is to see it in myself. Why? Because my own pride blinds my assessment of myself. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds me, “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
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It is bad enough that someone might think that they are more important than their fellow human being, but what happens when we end up thinking we are more important than God? Even though I know that God is more important than I am, I have caught myself living as if I believed the opposite.
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For example I have taken pride in living as a Christian ought to live. Why should I be proud of doing what is my duty to do? (Luke 17:10) Yes, we should obey God, but we must remember that even when we do all the right things, we still fall far short of His glory, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) As Christians we are supposed to be like Christ, but when I take pride in being like Christ I become more like the devil who said, “I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14)
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The same pride that gets me in trouble for thinking I am more holy than I really am, can also get me into trouble by convincing me that I am important enough to do whatever I want to do. Let’s face it, sin can be fun for a short time. When I start to think that I am so important that my pleasures are a greater priority than obeying God, then my pride has again pushed me farther from God. I cannot help but quote Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
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The answer is Jesus Christ. His payment on the cross has once and for all atoned for our sins. That payment is applied to us when we believe on Him. At that time we must humble ourselves before Him realizing He will draw near to us. I realize that when I take my eyes off Christ and put them on myself I end up either being proud of my spirituality or I end up thinking I am important enough that my obedience doesn’t matter, but when I remember that Jesus Christ is God and that He is the most important one, then I realize that I must obey Him without taking pride in doing what I am supposed to do.