Pride – Proverbs 16v18-20

Mohammed Ali

There’s a story that one time when Mohammed Ali was at the height of his boxing career, he had a verbal sparring match with air hostess during a flight he was on. The aeroplane was getting ready to land, and so the air hostess was asking everyone to fasten their seatbelts. But Ali, was in a bit of fiery, arrogant mood. So when she asked him to do up his seatbelt, he slapped his chest and said, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt”. Quick as a flash the air hostess replied, “Superman don’t need no plane. So buckle up!”

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” That wasn’t a very big fall in Ali’s case. Just some loss of face. But even in a little incident like that, we can see the bubble of pride being pricked and going flat. And wasn’t there a bit of a sense of satisfaction in that? When you’ve got someone who’s been arrogant – and you see them get their comeuppance – or see them fall flat on their face – it feels kind of merited, doesn’t it?

Pride is all about me

Why is that? Well I think it pushes us towards something that’s close to the centre of what pride is. Pride is all about me. It’s to do with seeing myself as better than others. We don’t like that when we come across it in someone else – maybe because actually we think we’re better than them. And so we’re quite pleased when they come back down to earth with a bump. It puts them in their proper place again.

Pride is to do with thinking that you are better than others. It’s also to do with thinking that you’ve got power or ability that is all your own. You’re not dependent on anyone else. I’m a self-made man. I’m proud of where I’ve got to. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. Superman don’t need no seatbelt. I can’t fall.

The thing about a fall, is that it reminds us of the truth. We aren’t superman, none of us. It reminds us how fragile we really are. Pride is dangerous, cos it makes us forget that. It leaves us walking on very thin ice.

V19 makes that point, by setting up a really sharp contrast:

Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed

than to share plunder with the proud.

Better to be lowly in spirit – or humble, we might say – and ground down and oppressed – better that, than to be proud and on top of the world?

No room for pride in heaven

Why? Well, because at the end of the day, there is no place for the proud in heaven. Pride lies close to the root of most sin. You can’t be proud, arrogant, independent, you can’t think you’re superman and untouchable – you can’t do all that, and recognise yourself as a helpless beggar, totally dependent on God’s mercy. They just don’t mix. Pride, independence, self-reliance, self-importance – they all go together. And humility, dependence, faith and trust, thankfulness – they all go together. But they don’t mix. You’ll basically be in one basket or the other.

And, as this verse tells us, it’s better to be in the humble basket, and get dirt kicked in your face, than to be in the proud basket and have everything you want.

Verse 20 builds on that contrast. It tells us a little bit more about the humble basket. Let me read it again:

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,

and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

This verse certainly isn’t talking about someone who’s proud – someone who’s got it made on their own. This verse is talking about someone who recognises that they need to learn from others. Someone who recognises that they are not superman, that they are not independent. Someone who sees that they need to depend on the Lord, someone who trusts in him. Being humble is all about seeing where we really stand. We’re not God, we’re not even superman. We are sinners who are totally dependent on our saviour. That’s the truth that puts everything else into perspective.

Let me pick an example. I have a friend in Australia who is a really good jazz saxophonist. Really, really good. One of the best in the country. So as a Christian, how should he think about that talent? If someone congratulates him on playing well, what should he say? “Oh, it was nothing. I’m not really that good, you know. Everybody else played much better.”

False humility
is no better

Sometimes people think that the alternative to pride is that sort of false humility nonsense. Or “lying” might be a better word for it. But surely those can’t be the only options for my friend – either for him to be arrogant about his musical ability, or else to lie to himself and pretends he’s not that good?

No, no, no - not at all. When someone is humble – truthfully humble – they will recognise when they are good at something. But they’ll also recognise where their ability comes from – that ultimately it’s a gift God has given them. My saxophone playing friend – he didn’t create his talent straight out of nothing. Yep, he may have worked hard, and practiced. and honed his talent – but God gave him the talent in the first place. And God placed him in a situation where he’d have people to teach him and nurture him and help him.

And not just that – my friend needs to recognise that being talented with a saxophone doesn’t make him a better person in God’s sight. It doesn’t make him more valuable, it doesn’t make him more holy, it doesn’t make him more worthy of heaven. It doesn’t do anything to change the fact that he’s a sinner. Or that Jesus loves him and died for him.

Now you see, if he recognises all of that, what will his reaction be? Well, he won’t be proud. He won’t think of his saxophone playing as if it is something he’s created out of nowhere that makes him better than everybody else. No, he’ll see it as a loving gift from the God who saved him. And he’ll want to use that gift in ways that please God, and express his thanks to God.

If we’ve come to know anything about Christianity, then we have to recognise at least some of that for ourselves. Sin and pride are all about putting me in the centre. Becoming a Christian is about realising that God is in the centre, and we are totally dependent on him.

Too proud to receive help?

But even as Christians we can slip into thinking in ways that lead us to be proud. We might be able to admit that we need help from God – at least sometimes. But often we don’t like to recognise that we need help from each other, if we’re to live the Christian life. We’d somehow like to think that we are above that. Very often it is pride that lies behind this. The Bible is always stressing the need for us to help one another – and to receive help from one another. Think of the commands in the NT. Encourage one another, build one another up, spur one another on, confess your sins to one another, carry each other’s burdens. The NT is overflowing with language like that. There’s no place for the pride that thinks we can be independent because we can manage on our own.

In fact, the NT has all sorts of things to say about pride. Let’s see how some of this works out in one particular passage. Turn with me to Philippians ch 3. This is a well known bit where Paul talks about boasting. Let me read a couple of paragraphs, starting part way through v4.

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Let’s just take a moment to follow through what Paul does here. In that first paragraph, he sits down and makes a list of all the things he could be proud of. He’s been well brought up; he’s from a good family. He’s been well educated. He knows his Bible inside out. And when it comes to living a normal decent life – he’s been faultless.

3 things
you're proud of

It might do us good to copy what Paul does here. Let me give you a moment – not long, 30 seconds perhaps – to make a little list of your own. It doesn’t have to be exhaustive. All I want you to do is come up with 3 things about yourself that you could be proud of. It might be a quality, like being clever or funny or sporty or musical or friendly. Or it might be an achievement, like having a good job or doing well in exams. Just try and think of three things you are most proud of.

…

OK, hold those 3 things in your head for a moment and look at what Paul does next. Let me read v8 again:

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ,

Do you see what he’s doing there? He takes the things he’s most proud of, and compares them with what it means to know Christ.

If I was making a list of stuff I might be proud of, one thing on the list might be to do with being good with books and words and reading and learning. And that’s all well and good and nice in its own little way. But it’s hardly something to be boasting about when you compare it to knowing the King of the Universe. The King who died to rescue me.

Being good with books won’t get me into heaven. It’s not like it adds very much to what Jesus did on the cross. Actually, that’s a very sloppy thing to say. It doesn’t add anything – it’s nothing, it’s rubbish.

Out of position

And that’s not just true of Paul’s list of things he’s proud, or my list -the same goes for all the things on your lists, or on anybody’s list. Compared to knowing Christ, they are nothing. That doesn’t mean we should despise them. Not at all, they’re good gifts from God. They only become despisable when we take them out of their right position. Only if we take pride in them, or build our worth on them, or think we’re better than others because of them. Then they’re despisable.

Humility is all about seeing where we stand before God. Totally dependent on him for everything. Even our strengths and good qualities come from him. We run into problems if we start thinking we’ve earned them or achieved them apart from him. But if we get that right – if we see that we’re totally dependent on God – it’ll help us to relate rightly to those around us. Turn back a page with me to Philippians 2v3

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who...

Who, although he was God, stooped down to die for us.

Jesus wasn't
like that

There’s the challenge for us. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. We’re so often tempted to focus our attention on ourselves, to make sure we’re appreciated, to make sure our contribution is noted. Jesus wasn’t like that. He emptied himself for the sake of others. And we are to do likewise. Each of us should look not only to our own interests, but also to the interest of others. We are to put other people first.

If I’m working in a team, or playing in a band, or helping out in a group, my normal prideful reaction would be to make sure I’m sorted out alright. The most important thing is that I get my job done well, that I’m heard loudly enough, that I’m appreciated, that I get to make my contribution, that everybody recognises me for what I’m worth.

Wrong attitude. In humility, put others first, consider them better, look also to their interests. Learn from Christ and be like him.

Well, let me finish by trying to draw all that together into 6 top tips for overcoming pride:

Pride is all to do with each of us thinking we’re great. So…

Recognise your true standing before God. Each of us is a hopeless sinner who deserves hell. And that’s where we’d be if it wasn’t for Jesus. We’re completely dependent on him. There isn’t anything we could offer him to make up for that. Being handy at DIY, or good on the guitar, or just generally clever – it doesn’t count for much in the face of the cross. Recognise your true standing before God.
The stuff you are good at – recognise that it’s a gift from God.
I’m good at books and reading and learning stuff. Maybe there’s things I’ve done that have improved that – practice generally makes any gift better. But I didn’t cause it, and if it went away I couldn’t bring it back. Recognise that all your talents are gifts from God.
Give thanks to God for every gift he’s given you. Not like the prayer of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable – “I thank you Lord that I am so much better than all these other people.” Not that, but the prayer that says, “Lord I couldn’t do anything without you. Thank you for everything you’ve given to me – help me to use it to honour you.” Thank God for his gifts – that in itself is a good antidote to pride.
Pray that God will bless you loads, and bless others loads. I’ve phrased that in a very general way there. Most real prayers would be a bit more specific. Let’s use studies as an example again. When you pray for yourself, pray for others too. You’d be praying, “Please help me with my studies, and please help John and Sally too.” Pray for others as well as yourself.
And if you realise your prayer really meant “bless others loads, but never quite as much as me. I hope John does well, but I hope I do even better” – then repent, and pray it again properly.
Keep coming back to the cross. There’s no place for pride there. Keep coming back to the cross.

Pride – Proverbs 16v18-20

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