Chapter Eleven: Pride
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Pride
Of all the characters in the Bible who seem so repugnant to us, probably no one is more so than the self-righteous Pharisee in the parable of Jesus, who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). But the irony is that even as we condemn him, we can easily fall into the same self-righteous attitude.
In this chapter, we are going to address the sin of pride — not pride in general, but certain expressions of it that are special temptations to believers. We are going to look at the pride of moral self-righteousness, the pride of correct doctrine, the pride of achievement, and the pride of an independent spirit. As I seek to address these subtle sins, I pray that I can do so without myself falling into the pride of a censorious spirit. So let me say at the outset that I am not free from pride, especially the kind that hides itself behind a cloak of trying to teach others. One of the problems with pride is that we can see it in others but not in ourselves. And I am quite mindful of Paul’s words, “You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?” (Romans 2:21). So please join me in asking God to reveal to each of us the pride that He sees in our lives. That this is a critical topic is seen in the fact that both James and Peter warn us, “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
MORAL SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
The pride of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable was what we can call moral self-righteousness. It expresses itself in a feeling of moral superiority with respect to other people. This type of pride is not limited to believers. It is found in the political and cultural realms among both liberals and conservatives. Anyone who believes, for example, that he holds the moral high ground in any area such as politics, economics, or environmental policy is likely indulging in moral self-righteousness. Sadly, however, it is very common among conservative, evangelical believers.
The sin of moral superiority and self-righteousness is so easy to fall into today, when society as a whole is openly committing or condoning such flagrant sins as immorality, easy divorce, a homosexual lifestyle, abortion, drunkenness, drug use, avarice, and other flagrant and scandalous sins. Because we don’t commit those sins, we tend to feel morally superior and look with a certain amount of disdain or contempt on those who do. It’s not that those sins I’ve mentioned are not serious sins that are tearing apart the moral fabric of our society. Indeed, they are serious, and I respect those Christian leaders of our day who raise a prophetic voice against them. But the sin we ourselves fall into is the sin of moral self-righteousness and a resultant spirit of contempt toward those who practice those sins. In fact, Jesus told the parable about the Pharisee “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9).
I venture that of all the subtle sins we will address in this book, the pride of moral superiority may be the most common, second only to the sin of ungodliness. But though it is so prevalent among us, it is difficult to recognize because we all practice it to some degree. In fact, we seem to get a perverse enjoyment out of discussing how awful society around us is becoming. When we engage in this kind of thinking or conversation, we are guilty of the pride of moral superiority.
How, then, can we guard against the sin of self-righteousness? First, by seeking an attitude of humility based on the truth that “there but for the grace of God go I.” Though that statement has become something of a trite expression, it is indeed true for all of us. If we are morally upright, and especially if we are believers who seek to live morally upright lives, it is only because the grace of God has prevailed in us. No one is naturally morally upright. Rather, we all have to say with David, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5, NIV). Rather than feeling morally superior to those who practice the flagrant sins we condemn, we ought to feel deeply grateful that God by His grace has kept us from, or perhaps rescued us from, such a lifestyle.
Another means by which we can guard against self-righteous pride is by identifying ourselves before God with the sinful society we live in. After the Babylonian captivity, when many of the Jewish people had returned to the land of Judah, Ezra, a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses went back to teach his people God’s law. The Scripture says of Ezra that he “had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Ezra was obviously a godly man who lived an exemplary life.
Yet on an occasion when he became aware of some of the deep sin among the people, he identified himself with their sin, even though he himself was not guilty. Consider his prayer as recorded in Ezra 9:6: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.” Note how he included himself in his confession of guilt: “our iniquities” and “our guilt.” As we in our day see the increasing moral degradation of our society, we need to adopt the attitude of Ezra. As we do so, it will tend to keep us from self-righteous pride.
PRIDE OF CORRECT DOCTRINE
Closely akin to moral pride is doctrinal pride, the assumption that whatever my doctrinal beliefs are, they are correct, and anyone who holds another belief is theologically inferior. Those of us who care about doctrine at all are susceptible to this form of pride. It doesn’t matter if we are Arminians or Calvinists, whether we subscribe to Dispensational or Covenant theology, or perhaps have embraced some form of eclectic theology, we tend to think our doctrinal beliefs are the correct ones and look with some disdain on those whose beliefs are different from ours. And then to complete the spectrum of this type of pride, there are those who don’t consider doctrine important and so look with disdain on those of us who do. In other words, this form of pride is a pride in our particular belief system, whatever that may be, and an attitude that in our beliefs we are spiritually superior to those who hold other beliefs.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul addresses this form of pride when it arose over the issue of eating food that had been offered to idols. Some of the Corinthian Christians had concluded that such a practice fell within the bounds of Christian liberty. Paul did not disagree with that conclusion, but he did rebuke them for the doctrinal pride that resulted from their belief. He wrote to them, “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Paul agreed with their “knowledge” — that is, their doctrinal belief regarding eating food offered to idols — but he charges them with doctrinal pride. Their “knowledge” had puffed them up.
If your Calvinism or Arminianism or dispensationalism, or your view concerning the end times, or your disdain for all doctrinal beliefs causes you to feel doctrinally superior to those who hold other views, then you are probably guilty of the sin of doctrinal pride. I’m not suggesting that we should not seek to know the truths of Scripture and develop doctrinal convictions about what the Scriptures teach; I am saying that we should hold our convictions in humility, realizing that many godly and theologically capable people hold other convictions.
I was once asked to comment about a book that taught a system of sanctification with which I strongly disagree. In my letter, I wrote the following: “Please note that I am saying ‘things with which I disagree,’ not things wherein he [the author] is wrong. I may find out when I get to heaven that I am the one who was wrong.”
Now, having written that, does it mean my convictions are less strong than before? Not at all. If anything, after having read the book, my convictions were stronger. But it does mean that I want to hold my convictions with humility and treat the author of the book with the same respect I would treat people whose doctrine of sanctification is the same as mine. (I realize that in using myself as an example of the humility we should practice, I can appear to be “proud of my humility.” I trust such is not the case, and I know there are other occasions when I have not been as generous and respectful toward those with whom I disagree.)
But the point of this section is to point out the danger of doctrinal pride and to urge you to prayerfully consider if this is one of your “acceptable” sins. If you even think it might be, I suggest you memorize and pray over the “knowledge puffs up” verse, 1 Corinthians 8:1. Then seek to pinpoint more precise areas where you tend to be doctrinally proud, and ask God to enable you to hold your convictions with a genuine spirit of humility.
PRIDE OF ACHIEVEMENT
The Scriptures teach that there is generally a cause-and-effect relationship between hard work and success in any endeavor, whether in academics, athletics, business, or profession. For example, Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” And Paul exhorted Timothy regarding his ministry, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved” (2 Timothy 2:15). And Paul himself went all out in his ministry (see 1 Corinthians 9:26-27; Philippians 3:12-14).
However, the Scriptures also teach that success in any endeavor is under the sovereign control of God (see 1 Samuel 2:7; Psalm 75:6-7; Haggai 1:5-6). As the 1 Samuel passage teaches, “The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.” Two students in the same major can both work diligently, yet one excels and gets top grades, while the other barely gets above average. Why the difference? God has given one more intellectual ability than the other or perhaps brought him into the world in a family that challenged and stimulated his intellectual growth. Whatever the cause, the ability to achieve or succeed in any endeavor ultimately comes from God.
We looked at Deuteronomy 8:17-18 in chapter 10 when considering the subject of thankfulness. But the reason we are to give thanks for our successes is that it is God who gives us the power to succeed. There is no such thing as the “self-made man” — that is, the man (or woman) who has “pulled himself up by his own boot straps.” From a human point of view, he may appear to have succeeded by sheer dint of tenacity and hard work. But who gave him that entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen that enabled him to succeed? It was God.
To the proud Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). So what do you have that you did not receive? Nothing. You have nothing that did not come to you as a gift from God. Our intellect, our natural skills and talents, our health, and our opportunities to succeed all come from God. We have nothing that will enable us to achieve success that we did not receive from God.
So why do we boast, either in an overtly proud fashion or in a more subtle way in which we want to be proud but don’t want to appear to be? In both instances, it is because we have failed to acknowledge that success came from God. Sure, there was diligent effort involved, but who gave you the ability and the desire to succeed? And who blessed your efforts? Ultimately, all is from God.
To me, one of the more obnoxious people is the blustery sort of person who lets everyone know that the secret to his success in business or whatever is his hard work. You expect that from an unbeliever, but when it comes from a Christian, it really is offensive. And the rest of us who are more quietly spoken can be just as offensive to God if we talk about our success, or the success of our children, without any acknowledgment of the gracious blessing of God.
Like most families, my wife and I receive a lot of Christmas letters with family news from friends and acquaintances we have made over the years. Occasionally, one of the letters might say something like this: “Our son, John, graduated summa cum laude from [some prestigious university such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or MIT].” Now, there is nothing wrong with communicating this good news to family and friends. But stated in the above fashion, the letter conveys the idea, “Isn’t our son smart!” with no acknowledgment that his intellectual ability came from God.
If we want to avoid the subtle sin of pride in the achievements of our children, we might say something like this: “Our son, John, graduated summa cum laude from [fill in prestigious university]. We deeply acknowledge that John’s intellectual abilities come from God, and we are profoundly grateful to Him. We know that God does not choose to endow every child with the abilities He has given John. We have tried to instill this grateful attitude in John and to teach him that his academic abilities are a stewardship entrusted to him by God to be used to serve others and to glorify God.”
I’ve no doubt that other parents receiving such a letter from friends would rejoice with John’s parents in the blessing of God on him. But apart from such acknowledgment, many parents, right or wrong, will feel perhaps a bit of envy because their children are just average or have not done well at all. Now, I’ve used academic excellence for the purpose of illustrating the principle, but the same would be true if John were the All-American quarterback at some big-time football school. Or if John is now in the business world and has been promoted to vice president of a successful company.
So whether it’s our own success or that of our children, and in whatever endeavor it may be, failure to acknowledge that the success has ultimately come from God tends to promote a pride of achievement that does not honor God. And this form of pride is sin — subtle sin to be sure, but still sin.
Another aspect of the pride of achievement is the inordinate desire for recognition. All of us appreciate commendation for a job well done or for many years of faithful service on the job or at church. But what is our attitude when we do a specific job well and don’t receive recognition? Are we willing to labor in obscurity, doing our job as unto the Lord, or do we become disgruntled over the lack of recognition?
Two principles from Scripture will help us guard against a sinful desire for recognition. First, we should remember the words of Jesus in Luke 17:10, “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” When we have done a job well or served faithfully over a long time, our attitude should be, “I have only done my duty.”
Second, we should learn that all recognition, regardless of its immediate source, ultimately comes from God. It is God who puts down one and lifts up another (see Psalm 75:6-7). Putting these two principles together causes us to say, “All is of grace.” I deserve nothing, and all I do receive, including recognition, is only of His grace. Therefore, if I don’t receive it, I will not fret.
AN INDEPENDENT SPIRIT
Before starting on this book, I sent a proposed list of “acceptable” sins to about fifteen people in Christian ministry and asked them to add to the list any I had overlooked. From two who minister to students and young adults, I received a suggestion that I include the pride of an independent spirit. This spirit expresses itself primarily in two areas: a resistance to authority, especially spiritual authority, and an unteachable attitude.
Often these two attitudes go hand in hand. When we are young, we tend to think we know everything. Or, as one friend expressed it, “We don’t know how much we don’t know.” When I was young and single, I lived with two different families who had young children. I now remember with shame how I used to silently judge their child rearing. What pride! Young and single with absolutely no experience in rearing children, yet I thought I knew more than they did.
In The Navigators’ ministry, we often encounter a similar attitude among new and inexperienced staff. These folks are usually assigned to an intern role, serving under the direction of an experienced staff person. Yet they often come with an attitude that they know more about the ministry than the person who is to train them. As a result, they often exhibit an unwillingness to submit to the authority or instruction of the more mature staff person.
The Bible, however, is quite clear on the issue of submitting to authority. Of several Scriptures we could look at, the one that speaks most clearly to the subject is Hebrews 13:17:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
The writer of Hebrews probably had in mind the spiritual authority of elders in a local church. However, the principle of submission and teachability applies in any situation where someone is under the tutelage or training of a more mature believer. And it is our pride of an independent spirit that makes us unteachable or unsubmissive.
I well remember the night I was first exposed to the teaching of Hebrews 13:17. I was a fairly new officer in the U. S. Navy at the time. I well understood the concept of submission to the authority structure aboard ship, and I had no doubt assumed the authority of teachers and professors during my years in school. But the idea of a spiritual authority to which I should submit was a new and radical idea to me. I am grateful that God exposed me to this principle when He did. It so happened that the very next night I came in contact with The Navigators’ ministry, which stresses one-to-one discipling and mentoring. Because of this new idea of submission to spiritual authority, I was teachable and responded readily to the challenges of being discipled by another.
Resistance to spiritual authority and an unteachable spirit is not limited to students and young adults. I sometimes encounter this attitude in teaching the Bible to older adults. Often a response to something I am teaching is, “Well, I think thus and such.” No appeal to Scripture is made; it is only the person’s opinion. Yet in his or her mind, that opinion is authoritative. There is no willingness to grapple with the teaching of Scripture.
Yet the Bible strongly teaches the value of a teachable attitude. Proverbs, in particular, has a lot to say about the subject. Consider, for example, the following phrases from the first few chapters of Proverbs:
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you … (Proverbs 2:1)
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments. (Proverbs 3:1)
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight. (Proverbs 4:1)
My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding. (Proverbs 5:1)
My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you. (Proverbs 7:1)
Although all these Scriptures are in the context of a father/ son relationship, they all express the principle of teachability: a willingness, even a desire, to learn from those more mature in the faith.
To give balance to this section, let me say that spiritual authority does not mean that someone has the authority to tell you whom to marry (or not marry) or where you are to work. It does mean that there should be someone who has your best interests at heart and can speak to those and similar issues with wise, biblical counsel. It means that there are those more mature than you who can help you grow up to become a mature Christian yourself, able to help others.
Now, let’s go back to the first objective of this book, which is to help us identify the subtle sins in our lives. One thing that may strike you is that some of the practices I’ve identified as sin in this chapter are usually not regarded as sin at all. That’s because they are so common and so accepted among Christians that we don’t think of them as sin. Or, even if we do agree they are sins, we may see them in other people but not in ourselves.
So I urge you to pray over this chapter, asking God to bring to your mind any tendencies of pride in these areas and then confessing them as sin. As you do so, remember God’s promise in Isaiah 66:2: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”