No Place for Pride

“Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” Proverbs 16:5

Over the years, I’ve observed that a proud person is usually trying to cover something. I’ve noticed after being around them for a time, they actually have feelings of inadequacy so they compensate with attitudes or words that portray pride. The problem with pride, however, is that it has some serious consequences. One of the foremost results, perhaps, is that we push God out of our life!

Too many times over the years, I have fallen into the trap of pride about my appearance, position, capabilities, or circumstances, only to find that almost immediately after these feelings of pride, I sensed an emptiness in my heart. This emptiness is a quenching of the Holy Spirit. Pride pushes God out of our life and shuts down the work of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we trust in our own looks, abilities, or resources we are sure to fall.

As the children of God, we are just servants. There is no place for pride. If God blesses us and we are successful in any area, we should just be grateful to God and recognize that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).