Christian Living

The Ladmine called Pride

by Brian Erwin
06/09/23
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There is a landmine called pride

2 Chronicles 26:4-21 is the Scripture Text

As a result of a business trip years ago, I felt my heart sink when I spoke with a leader of a large Christian organization. After a few minutes, he smiled and said, "Charles, we're at the top of our game. Nobody is able to do what we've done. We're the leaders, and no one can catch us." Not because I wanted to be number one, but because I sensed God saying, "Don't ever think about it."

It felt as if an arrow had been shot directly into my heart at that moment. I understood what He meant. Pride destroys, and it has no place in a believer's life. It is not acceptable for a believer to have pride that lifts themselves without glorifying and honoring God. It is possible this man didn't realize what he had said. It may have been God's way of warning me. In spite of what He meant, pride does destroy God's plan.

Many times, we begin our Christian walk well. We focus on God, and our hearts are fully committed to Him. However, pride quickly sets in and blinds us to God's ways. If left unchecked, our pride can change our perspective on God and the path He has chosen for us. We are tempted to think we are better than He is.

The goal of Satan is to wound and destroy God's children deeply. He will wreak as much havoc on a believer as he can.

Despite the fact that pride is one of the most violent struggles in our lives, most people fail to realize that many of our problems are caused by pride. They become proud of the good things God has given them — jobs, children, churches, pastors, education, neighborhoods, and so on.

It is at the top of God's list of sins that He hates: "Pride and arrogance, evil way, and perverted mouth, I hate." (Proverbs 8:13). According to the New International Version, I dislike pride, arrogance, evil behavior, and perversion.

The enemy sets out landmines in our lives every morning. If we are not alert, we will fall victim to his tactics. The pride landmine can tear a gaping hole in a person's life if yielded to. This temptation is one of Satan's strongest weapons of war, and it tempts us to take our eyes off God and focus on ourselves.

In his book Power through Prayer, E.M. Bounds states, "In the holy of holies today, self rules, not God...Self­ability in some wicked form has defamed and violated the temple that should be sacred to God." Pride always leads to arrogance and rebellion against God, no matter how hard we try to hide, justify, or excuse it.

Isn’t it appropriate to be proud of my abilities? After all, I have talents, and I am smart. “What’s wrong with me taking pride in the talents God has given me?” Being proud of oneself is perfectly normal. The Lord wants us to use our skills and abilities for His glory. By doing so, we honor His life and His life within us.

There are people who do not honor the Lord with their attitudes. They believe Satan's lies that they can accomplish anything they want apart from God. This line of thinking always leads us away from God.

EXPOSURE OF PRIDE'S LANDMINE

As he rose through the ranks of the mission field, one young man faced one trial after another, every time it was the critical leaders within the organization who were at fault. Amazingly, he refused to admit he was involved — someone else was always at fault.

As the young man began telling others that those in authority did not do the work as well as he could, he became increasingly obsessed with getting credit for his work, yet no one acknowledged it. Though his friends and coworkers recognized he was too proud, he did not. He became discouraged, disgruntled, and disappointed shortly afterward.

Due to pride, this young man refused to work for this organization. Despite his best efforts, he was in danger of breaking his obedience to God. He was blinded by pride and convinced that his only choice was to leave the very work God had called him to do. However, he overlooked one important detail: God never rescinds His call. Even if our circumstances or location change, He will never ask us to abandon His will.

In refusing to submit to the leadership over him, he mistakenly believed he knew more than the leaders.

Having been created with such beauty and ability, Satan thought he could rule God and His creation. When he decided to follow his deceptive words, pride flourished.

After being confronted over his actions, he assumed that he was right and everyone else was wrong. Pride never admits failure. Instead, it seeks self-gratification blindly.

As soon as the young man convinced himself he was doing the right thing, he persisted until he was asked to step down.

Because of this, he never thought that God could use our circumstances to mold and shape us into a reflection of His love. As a result of His purpose, He may place us in a position of responsibility, which may involve some difficulty, which requires someone to take our place.

Ultimately, God uses each of us for His glory. No matter what we think we know, have, or can accomplish, we are never more important than anyone else.

Although he vowed to continue mission work in other ways, this young man chose not to return to the mission field. Satan is overjoyed whenever we leave the place God has put us. This does not only apply to an office. As a result of our mistaken beliefs about ourselves, we can walk away from relationships, responsibilities, church and community service.

It doesn't matter what we think, feel, have, want, or desire. You're on pride's trail if you set goals without God's guidance.

PRIDE FROM GOD'S PERSPECTIVE

Uzziah's story is an excellent example of this: he became King of Judah when he was 16 and stayed in power for 52 years in Jerusalem. People are often unable to cope with prosperity, power, good fortune, talent, or proficiency that God gives them. A hidden danger was revealed at the end of his reign when Uzziah sought after the Lord and was kept in His favor (Chronicles 26:4-5). However, he remained loyal to the Lord and kept in His favor as long as he sought after the Lord.

It is said that "God prospered [the king] as long as he sought the LORD." Because Uzziah and his men followed the Lord, the Ammonites, and the Arabians were no match for them. When Judah's army went to war against the Philistines, who were known for their fierce and tenacious spirit, they won. Thus, he was successful both on and off the battlefield.

His kingdom was impressively shaped by the construction of towers in the wilderness, fortifying Jerusalem, and digging a large number of cisterns to irrigate his vineyards and provide water for his animals. In addition to 2,600 valiant warriors of household heads, he had an elite army of 307,500 men to assist him against all enemies. As a result of this outstanding assistance, Uzziah gained fame throughout the world.

The temptation to believe all the good things people say about you is great, but pride always precedes a fall. Humility will help us on our journey to success. Uzziah thought he didn't need God's help because of his popularity and strength. He realized his mistake only after his allegiance to the Lord started to break apart. In the saying, "Pride comes before a fall." If we are wise, this won't happen to us.

After realizing that God had given him strength and ability, the king became proud and no longer relied on God's wisdom to guide him: 2 Chronicles 26:16 “He acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God because he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”

One of the worst things that Uzziah could have done was offer a sacrifice to God. It was the same action that led to the death of King Saul (1 Samuel 13:8). Both men did something God had anointed the priest to do, and that no one else could. Their pride led them to believe that nothing could be done.

According to Jewish custom, kings were servants of God and, therefore, were forbidden from acting independently. Uzziah, blinded by his arrogance, thought he could disregard God's law and principles, because we all tend to take matters into our own hands. It turned out, however, that burning incense on the altar was only the priests' domain. A misguided course of action resulted in negative consequences for him.

When we choose a different route or take a shortcut around God's command, this is what's going on deep inside, even if we don't openly refuse what He has given us to do. If we are envious of God, we will always turn away from His Word and follow our own way. We can either obey His Word or ignore it.

PRIDE'S VICTIM

According to Proverbs 29:23, "a man's pride brings him low, but a humble spirit brings him honor." Pride has a result that we often ignore:

(Proverbs 16:18-19) It is better to be humble with the lowly than to divide the spoiled with the proud.

We move forward rather than pray and ask God for His wisdom in our circumstances because we believe we know what is best. It may not be necessary to ask anyone for help. Perhaps, like King Uzziah, we do not even pause to think. Despite our worldly boldness, we fail to realize that we have stepped on Satan's landmine and are about to face serious trouble if we do not stop.

When Uzziah was a young man, he admitted that he needed help - especially God's help. He listened to the priests and followed their advice, but as he aged, he began to think that he held wisdom beyond anyone else's.

Pride can be caused by several factors:

Self-centeredness

Feelings of inadequacy

Immaturity and an inability to handle responsibility

Incapable of handling wealth, position, and God's gifts

The evil, dark snare of pride is a snare that shows no mercy and rarely arouses our feelings. Our lives are tainted with thoughts of arrogance, conceit, and self-importance as a result of it. Satan used it in Eden, and he uses it today as well. Adam and Eve were then enticed by it to believe they could emulate God (Genesis 3:5).

As we read Genesis, we want to shout at Adam and Eve, "Don't do it! Don't give in to Satan!" But they did, and we see the results of their failure and pride as they succumb to Satan's temptation.

Adam and Eve left their safe and blessed home when they believed the enemy's lie that they could become like God. Instead of running to the Lord for help and understanding, they allowed thoughts of prideful temptation to sway their hearts.

It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron consecrated to do so," Azariah, the priest, said, as he entered the temple. Your unfaithfulness will result in no honor from the LORD God (2 Chronicles 26:18). Pride can only lead to sorrow and sorrow.

In spite of this rebuke, the king remained unrepentant and stubborn. He contracted leprosy on his forehead while he was enraged with the priests at the altar of incense in the house of the LORD.

Once the priests left Uzziah's presence, he fled the house of the Lord as Adam and Eve had when they sinned against God, as Uzziah did when he realized what he had done. However, their failure served as a prelude to the coming of the Messiah - the One who would overthrow Satan and his evil entrapment of sin and death.

As far as we know, Uzziah never turned back to the Lord in humility. He lived as a leper in a separate house, isolated from God's goodness and His presence. A tragic fate for a man who had such an encouraging start — a man who lived with devotion to God throughout his life. Fame led him away from God when he was in his prime. His pride caused him to turn away from God.

King Uzziah's life should serve as a strong warning for us. We can be sure we are headed for a fall when we believe we are so important that we are not held accountable for what we do or say. Those who refuse to obey God in a certain area may be disciplined by Him.

It's easy to understand why: pride isolates us from God. It prevents us from becoming people who are dedicated solely to Him. That's why He hates pride. He knows it is a stumbling block, and if it's left unchecked, it can cause havoc. It's not just that pride glorifies oneself rather than God. Instead of receiving praise and glory for our lives, we seek it for ourselves.

PRIDE CAN BE OVERCOME BY TRUST

In our lives, we should aim to be the best we can be right where God has placed us. In order to be exalted at the right time by God, we must humble ourselves under His mighty hand. Peter (1 Peter 5:6) advises us to pray and ask for new challenges, but we need to focus on His plan and timing.

When God is near, he attempts to alert us that we should not walk in a certain direction. Still, we forge ahead. As a consequence, His discipline increases and our lives become increasingly intricate if we don't heed it. Although Adam and Eve were blessed abundantly, they pursued additional gratification from the enemy, ultimately resulting in heartbreak and separation from their loving Creator.

Several signs indicate that we are struggling with pride. While the list is long, it includes:

Arrogance

Self-promotion

There is a lack of giving to God and others

A selfish attitude

Refusal to listen to other people's advice

Authority is not respected

Having a rebellious spirit

Self-promotion

Having a lack of humility towards God and others

The inability to receive a compliment or gift

The enemy will take advantage of us when we open a door to pride, even a small one, and make us think much better of ourselves than God intended. As much as the Lord wants you to have a healthy self-esteem, He also wants you to learn to deal with pride so you don't miss out on His blessings.

The Satanic trick is to tell us that we need to reach certain levels in life before we can feel worthy. Additionally, he wants us to believe that we don't need anyone else. Therefore, we attack life in the same way he did. Those who have never accepted Christ as their Savior are whispered to: “You don’t need a Savior. You don’t need to bow down to anyone. After all, you are in charge.”

However, believers may still be tempted, but differently. It is easy to think that asking for help will make us appear weak, or that if we confess to struggling, our friends will laugh at us. All of us need Jesus. We all need God's guidance and compassion. His love is unconditional; it does not matter who we are or what others think. Often, pride arises when someone feels inadequate and believes they need to do more than they already are.

Do not fall victim to Satan's tactics. You may think you need to push through life, but you do not. You have been given everything you can ever hope for through Jesus Christ. Ask God to show you how to rest in His infinite care. When you learn how to do this, you will not only feel hopeful, but you will also realize how valuable you are to God.