C.S. Lewis wrote, “According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil; Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

Self-focus:

It is no wonder that God detests pride and opposes the proud. It is pride that leads man to believe he can live without God. God wants us to stay close to Him and far from sin. Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall (Proverbs 16:18 NLT). Pride is when we are self-willed, not God-willed. It makes us focus on ourselves instead of on God.

Poison:

Pride makes you small. But He gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6 NLT). Pride is a poison to the mind, soul, and heart of man. It ruins everything it touches. It actually believes it knows better than God.

Humility:

So, what must we do? We must all humble ourselves, recognizing that God knows best, that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). Pride goes before destruction; it goes before damage, something that cannot be repaired. Haughtiness is when someone thinks they are better than someone else — they become arrogant — this comes before the fall, ruin, failure.

So, let’s all make sure we keep a humble (teachable) heart and mind, and be doers of God’s word in every area of our lives. 

Just a thought,

PSS