What's the number one barrier to God doing a new work in our hearts and lives? What stops the process of God transforming our lives? PRIDE. This morning and over the next few days, I want to talk about rooting out the pride in our lives.
The more you mature in life, the more you realize you are your own biggest problem. I cause myself far more problems than anybody else does. And you do too. The more you grow and the more you develop and the more you mature you realize that you have an “I” problem. The middle letter of “sin” is “I”. The middle letter of “pride” is “I.” When I want what I want and I want it regardless of what God says it causes all kinds of problems.
The Bible talks about two kinds of pride. There’s good pride and there’s bad pride. There’s godly pride, which is a good thing. And there is ungodly pride. Before we get into this I want to distinguish the difference.
But then there’s the negative that we’re all too acquainted with. The selfish pride. The stubborn pride that won’t admit it when we’re wrong. That holds on to a grudge. That gossips. That causes all kinds of conflict. The kind of pride that judges other people and puts them down and thinks we’re better than others. It’s conceit. It’s egotism. It’s arrogance. God says that is damaging and destructive.
Do you want to know what God thinks about our pride? Proverbs 6:16-17 (AMP) says, “These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: The first is a proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others]…”
Maybe you’ve never thought about how destructive pride is in your life. But it is the root of every other sin in your life. Do you want to know what the worst sin is? It’s pride. It is not murder. It is not adultery. It is pride. Pride says, “I want to be God… I want to choose my own way…” is at the root of everything else.
Over the next few days, I want us to do two things. First I want to look at how pride damages our lives. Then how do we root it out? How do we break free from that bad kind of pride so that we can live the kind of lives of happiness and success and fulfillment and the purpose and plan of God for us?
First let’s look at the damage pride does.
#1. The first thing pride does is pride causes conflict. Pride is at the root of every single human conflict. Pride. The Bible says in Proverbs 13:10 “Pride only breeds quarrels”
Pride causes conflict because of so many different implications of it. As I said, it’s the root of all other sins. For instance, pride causes us to put pressure on other people. I wonder how many kids are being pressured by their parents to take ballet class when they don’t care about ballet. Or take martial arts class, or little league when they don’t really care about it. But the parents want them to take it. You need to ask yourself, do my kids really want this or is this something because of my own pride? Am I forcing them to do it because of my own pride? So I can put a bumper sticker on my car that says, “My kid was student of the month at “this” school.” (I saw one the other day, “My kid was inmate of the month at San Quentin. That’s going a little too far!)
But how many times do we pressure other people to act in a certain way because it will make us look good. Not them. That causes conflict.
Pride is what causes you to hold on to grudges and to keep score in your marriage. Do you do that? “You did this!” Yeah but you did that. There’s a word for that. You are being a prideful person at that moment. Pride won’t let go. Pride won’t forgive. Pride holds on to hurt. Pride keeps us keeping score. Are you keeping score in your marriage? If you are, you’re killing it. You just need to understand: you are the one killing your marriage. By keeping score. You’ve got to let it go.
Pride is what causes us to gossip. The reason we gossip is it makes us feel better about ourselves by saying dirt about other people. Any time you gossip you are acting like a prideful person. The Bible says this in Proverbs 28:25 “He that is of a proud heart, stirs up strife.” And nothing stirs up strife more than gossip.
Pride makes us rude. When we think we are better than somebody else we become obnoxious. We become arrogant. We take people who are serving us for granted. You’ve seen it. You’ve seen it in airports when people are rude to the ticket people or rude to clerks at the grocery store. Things don’t go the way they think and they think that the entire world should serve them at that moment. That’s pride.
Pride makes us judgmental. When I think I’m better than you, I look down on you. When you stumble it makes me less willing to forgive. It makes me unmerciful.
The number one thing pride does in causing conflict is it causes us to refuse to admit our mistakes. I can guarantee you that the family you are in right now or the family you grew up in has some conflicts that were never ever resolved. I guarantee you that. There were some issues in the family you grew up in or the one you’re in now that were never ever resolved. The reason is stubborn pride.
One last thing I would share this morning. Pride causes us to fall. "Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18 (HCSB)
Stay humble or you'll stumble. Today, is there any pride in your life you need to confess, so it won't be the barrier that stops you from transforming into the person God desires?
I love you guys. Stay humble. Stay the course. ENDURE!
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