Selected Scriptures: Proverbs on PRIDE!

For those of you who've noticed, we've just finished going through the entirety of the book of Proverbs. I've sure enjoyed it, and I hope you have as well. Proverbs is an extremely applicable book that helps us put our Christian faith into practice, and I enjoyed writing devotionals about that very thing. However, behind the scenes, I was also collecting all of the proverbs on the subject of pride. In the end, it led me to a great systematic doctrine of pride according to the book of Proverbs, and I'd love to share it with you this morning. From the book of Proverbs, we find seven great facts about pride. The first two speak of who hates pride, the next two of what pride brings, the next two of what pride leads to, and the last one of the conclusion of pride.

1. God hates pride.

Proverbs 6:16-17a: "There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes..."

There are seven things that the Lord hates, and pride is the first. God does not hate anything more than he hates pride. He abhors seeing it in anyone's life, escpecially the life of a believer.

2. Wisdom hates pride.

Proverbs 8:13: "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate."

In Proverbs 8, wisdom is personified, and she is giving a speech. In this speech, she speaks of how much she hates pride. In nonpoetic terms, the fact that wisdom hates pride tells us two things. Firstly, that Jesus hates pride, as he is wisdom incarnate (see John 1:1). Secondly, that reason hates pride, that is, that pride does not make any logical sense, and therefore it would be stupid and foolish for us to follow it.

3. Pride brings shame.

Proverbs 11:2: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Although pride promises honor, all it brings is shame. Pride will bring you low, and not in a good way. It will cause you to be laughed at by those around you. It will cause you to be broken on the inside. It will leave you ashamed of yourself, though it promises the very opposite.

4. Pride brings destruction.

Proverbs 16:18 (see also 15:25, 18:12): "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Pride is the end of all men. It leaves no room for error--it will destroy. Although pride promises prosperity, it delivers destruction. Pride leads all that one seeks to accomplish to be broken down. Like a wrecking ball, pride destroys all that is in its sight with no apology. Lastly, it will not only destroy what you have done, but it will destroy you as well.

5. Pride leads to sin.

Proverbs 21:4 HCSB: "The lamp that guides the wicked—haughty eyes and an arrogant heart—is sin."

Pride is a thing that does not stop. It starts small, yet grows quickly. As the verse says, pride is a lamp that lights up one's path towards sin and guides them into it. Pride is not a one-time event, but a way of life that leads one into further derailment each day he does not turn from it.

6. Pride leads to scoffing.

Proverbs 21:24: "'Scoffer' is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.

Still, pride does not only lead to sins that affect our own lives, but sin that affects those around us. Pride leads us to scoff (that is, to scorn, mock, or ridicule) at others and tear them down. This is also because pride is insecure. Pride cannot uphold itself, because at its core it is insecure and it needs to put someone else down so that it can feel better about itself. Some of the most prideful, scornful people are the most insecure. Maybe you are one of them.*

7. Pride humiliates.

Proverbs 29:23: "One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor."

The ultimate thing that pride promises is elavation. "Follow me," pride proclaims, "and I will raise you up." Yet, this is the very thing that pride cannot deliver upon. Can it bring you shame? Yes. Can it bring you destruction? Certainly. Can it bring you elevation? Never. The only thing that pride does will lead you to is humiliation, that is, lowering rather that elevation. Pride will put you down, though it promises to raise you up. Pride's end is the end of men, and pride's deliverance is deliverance unto death. Pride humiliates.

*This statement is supposed to both convict us of our insecurities and lead us to hope. The Bible leaves no room for any follower of Christ to feel insecure. God has loved you unto death (see Romans 5:8) and furthermore provided for all of our deficiencies (see 2 Cor. 12:10-10). Thus, when you feel insecure (which is truly rooted in your own pride, as you desire something that God has not given to you or feel a way in which God has not commanded you to feel, such as hopeless), look to the promises found in Christ rather than scoff at others to make you feel better. The Bible has a word to describe those who put others down for their own benefit: foolish.