Puffed Up On Pride

Have you ever tried to blow up a balloon? You breathe into it and slowly the balloon begins to inflate. You huff and puff, but no matter how much of your own air you put in it, it always falls to the ground. So, you pump Helium into it instead, and it rises up into the sky. The appearance of the balloon remains the same, but the altitude changes depending on what is put inside.

All too often, we use our own breath to puff ourselves up, but we continuously fall flat. God wants to fill us with His breath in our lungs to use the gifts He has bestowed upon us for Him. In doing so, we may look the same on the outside, but what's in us is different. The Bible tells us that God opposes the proud, and He lifts up the humble. All too often we climb the ladder of success, boosting our pride along the way. Then, we get to the top only to realize Jesus is still at the bottom washing feet. God brings us so far, but our pride always limits our growth, our intimacy with God, and our understanding of who He is. With that said, it is essential that we have a deep understanding of humility and the devastating destruction of pride.

Humility is not insecurity or inferiority. It is the quietness of the heart and an emptying of yourself. I believe that humility is the root and soil for all the other biblical virtues to flourish. Just think about it! It is very difficult to be patient with someone when we are filled with pride because we will always believe we deserve more or better than that person is giving us. Humility says it's not about my capacity, but, rather, about His compassion. If you really want to commune with God, the key is humility. Rick Warren, a pastor in California, puts it this way, "Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less." Our culture tells us that humility is to have a "woe is me" mindset, but this tends to just result in disguised narcissism. Humility is being so focused on Jesus, that we aren't focused on ourselves anymore. The key to intimacy with God is humility.

Jesus provides an excellent example of this in the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18. During this time, tax collectors were hated and seen as horrible sinners. They were Jews working for the Roman Government, making them traitors. They weren't paid an actual wage by the Romans, so they were expected to take extra money from the people to keep for themselves. This gave the tax collectors a very dishonest and bad reputation. In this parable, a Pharisee and a tax collector go to the temple to pray. While they are there, the Pharisee thanks God that he is essentially better than the tax collector. Meanwhile, the tax collector is praying earnestly for God's mercy because he is a sinner. Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (v 14).

In this, it says that the Pharisee stood confident in his own righteousness while the tax collector bowed his head and beat his breast. The tax collector knew he was a sinner and in need of God's forgiveness. Jesus tells us in the parable that only the tax collector had pleased God. This parable gives light to what Dr. Charles Stanley stated in a sermon, "It's pride that keeps us off our knees.” It was very rare during this age for people to stand erect while praying. During this time, most people bowed their heads or prayed on their knees, but we see no evidence of that from the Pharisee. The reality is we are often so filled with pride that we refuse to submit to a holy and righteous God. Pride tends to be the very thing that keeps us in sin.

I want to let you in on a secret: our shoulders are not built in a manner capable of holding divine glory. When we put ourselves on a pedestal, like the Pharisee, it will crush us if we aren't careful. God doesn't play with human pride. Too often, it leads to an appetite that says my glory and desires are more important than God's will. We are living in a culture that has forgotten the glory of God because we are so consumed in human glory. However, let’s not forget that God punishes the proud. Just look at Lucifer. He let his pride take over and God gave him an eternal punishment. The reality is, we are never more like Satan than when we are walking in pride.

But what makes pride so difficult and devastating? First, it can be incredibly hard to detect. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I do a lot of work in student ministries. That means I've had to do a lot of road trips with middle school boys, and let's just say they usually don't smell great. I've had to ask them on numerous occasions, "Hey, did you put deodorant on today? Maybe you should put on some more. " This question always wounds their egos a little bit. The unfortunate thing about body odor is that the person with it doesn't smell it, but everyone around them does. Our pride is the same way. Everyone around us can see our pride very clearly, and we are the only ones who don't. Second, pride is a killer of relationships. We often get so wrapped up in what we deserve and don't deserve, that we start to believe we are beyond reproach. Have you ever thought, “That person doesn't deserve my love or my gift because they haven't done x, y, and z for me?” I know I have. You see, our pride prevents us from giving grace to others and often keeps us from forgiveness. Third, God hates pride. When we are walking in pride, we tend to push away the people God has put in our lives because nobody wants to be around somebody who is judgmental and arrogant. In addition, we know that God resists the proud. As a result, when we are prideful, we are not only lonely in our earthly relationships, but we are also lonely with our Creator.

To be honest, a lot of people think they have relationship problems, but they really just have a pride problem. Here's a question for you: Can people speak honestly with you? Do you immediately become defensive when they bring an issue to you? We can’t have deep relationships with people if we have never let them in. Perhaps, you are someone who pushes people away the minute they challenge you. To overcome pride, you must submit yourself to others. You may think you’re humble now but just wait. Wait until God leads you to serve someone who hurt you, bless someone who betrayed you, and minister to the people who have dragged your name through the mud. That's when God really checks your humility.

Pride is deceiving, but attractive to the human mind. It is the enemy's most well-crafted trick because it was his sin too. Take some time today to reflect on what areas of your life your pride has taken over. God isn't one to send people away empty, but He can't fill you up if you're already puffed with your own breath. For anything of God to live in us, our pride has to die in us.

May your roots run deep, and your faith remain strong! As always, Stay Rooted, my friends! <3