Whenever pride and ambition are indulged, the life is marred [1] for pride, feeling no need, closes the heart against the infinite blessings of Heaven.
Life Originates From God
Everything in creation flows from His design, a design built on one thing: love.
This love is divine because it’s not self-serving—it continually gives. Like the sun that shines on the earth, the hydrological cycle that nourishes it, or the oxygen plants provide to sustain life.
Pride is the opposite of this divine love. It seeks only itself.
It’s that inflated self-image that wants to rise above all else, where the world revolves around you, love becomes one-sided—taking everything and giving nothing or very little.
James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 tell us that pride is detestable before God—not because He seeks to punish us, but because everything He created thrives when each part lives in harmony with His design law of love.
So how can someone selfishly live only for themselves, cutting themselves off from the blessings of living for others?
And, in doing so, they pass a sentence upon themselves, living a life of bitterness, comparison, dissatisfaction, and drawing energy from trampling on others?
But Before We Examine Pride
This sin that every other sin finds its way with, do you think you qualify as a pride contestant?
Below is a TRUE-or-FALSE checklist.
If you catch yourself ticking TRUE for most boxes, let’s sail together through this rough post:
People Have Toned Down The Mention of Pride
Back in the day, the mention of Pride was all fire and brimstone. Today, it has quietly crept into modern Christianity.
Pride’s been pushed aside, replaced by softer terms like “problems,” “troubles,” or “issues.”
We’re more likely to hear sermons that feel like TED Talks on positive thinking than blunt reminders about the dangers of pride.
And so, saying out loud today that “pride is a sin” is like speaking a forgotten language.
We’ve been taught that Pride isn’t just a sin; it’s a desirable trait, the cherry on top of the cake of self-esteem.
Hidden Within Pride
There’s a dangerous contempt for God, echoing the rebellious attitude Lucifer expressed in Isaiah 14:12-21 and Ezekiel 28:1-19.
This pride comes from a desire for control, as if the proud heart wants to take the throne for itself.
It sounds more like, “Move over, God, I’ve got this!” ignoring that God’s presence keeps everything in perfect harmony.
If pride is a movie, it surely follows a script full of delusions!
It’s Not Just A Character Flaw Here On Earth
Pride is a bold mental illness that started in Heaven.
How else do you explain Lucifer’s misguided ambition to rise up to The Throne when everything was already perfect?
He held beauty and the highest position among angels. What more could he want?
It’s like waking up tomorrow, declaring yourself the reincarnation of Einstein, yet, your math and physics grades say otherwise.
Who would you blame if you find yourself pinned down in a mental hospital on antipsychotic meds?
Now, picture someone asserting they are God—would the response be any different?
Why Can’t We Afford To Admit Pride?
Why have we excused the term “sin” with “sickness,” softening the language and using psychology instead of biblical terms?
We often discuss mental health issues in church today. Why do we avoiding the word “sin” altogether?
Well, if we term it as sickness, we can get to play the blame game, pass the responsibility parcel, and cross our fingers, hoping this troublesome illness will disappear.
But when it’s sin, oh, we know who the culprit is, don’t we?
People would rather read Microsoft’s 1 hr 4 min terms and conditions than admitting to the depth of their pride.
Pride Sub-traits
This Pride is so immense it reveals many sub-traits, each woven with arrogance and self-importance.
Listed below is yours for introspection once again:
- Strongly opinionated.
- Flaunting your rights.
- Longing for attention by being needy, dramatic, desperate, pushy, demanding.
- Jealous or critical of people who succeed.
- Detesting the idea of being submissive.
- You always have to win.
- Demanding your way.
- Wanting control over others.
- Being critical yet resenting criticism.
- Being inordinately anxious about what others may think of you.
- Holding on to certain kinds of low self-esteem.
- Patterns of lying.
- Hard time acknowledging you were wrong, blame shifting, being defensive.
- Have a lot of conflicts with people.
- Cutting in line in a queue.
- Attitude of entitlement.
- Feeling you are a good person, superior to others.
If Not Pride, Then What?
Recognizing pride as a major stumbling block is one thing, but overcoming it is where many get stuck.
When I think of pride, living for oneself, I picture the opposite—living for others, like Christ. That’s humility.
But it’s more than that: It is:
- ❌ Not about weakness or avoiding confrontation.
- ✅ About strength and grace.
- ❌ Not about humiliating yourself to seek sympathy.
- ✅ About celebrating your worth through your genuine qualities, your connections with others, and your alignment with God.
- ✅ About seeing yourself accurately—embracing both your strengths and limitations.
- ✅ About welcoming truth and fostering a teachable spirit, rejecting self-focus and the need to appear superior.
- ✅ About recognizing your small role in a vast universe, our weakness compared to an omnipotent God, and our debt to others.
This principle finds its ultimate expression only in Christ.
How Then Can You Move Past Pride?
✅ Reflect on Pride’s Sub-Traits
- Use this as your diagnostic tool to assess the condition of your heart. Recognize your deepest struggles and areas needing growth. This process reveals where pride has taken root, but on its own, it has no saving grace.
✅ Acknowledge the Illusion of Self-Sufficiency
- After examining yourself, recognize that self-focus only undermines the quality of your life. Acknowledge that pride has led you down a path of independence from God and growth.
✅ Engage in Self-Dialogue
- Examine your internal speech. Where do you fall short in the sub-traits of pride? Reflect on your words and actions, and recognize the need to replace proud misconceptions with humility. Shift your thinking to align with God’s truth.
✅ Come Closer To Christ
- Christ is your sure help in transforming your heart. Seek Him daily through His Word to understand how a life of humility frees you, while pride only traps you. Commit your struggles to Him in prayer, especially in moments of weakness. Trust in His transforming power to renew you.
✅ Watch Your Heart Be Transformed
- As you surrender to Christ, He will be ready to restore His image in your heart. In Him, you will learn to operate in humility as an understanding friend of God, living in alignment with His will.
If You’re Feeling Worn Out By The Relentless Drive For Pride
Your Savior wants to plant the flowers of humility in your heart, where Pride once reigned.
He was tempted in the same deceitful lie and He overcame.
In Him, He promises to guide you in what is right and teach you His way.
And with a transformed heart, “made perfect, equipped for every good work,” He’ll want you to lift others stuck in the same struggle.
Will you embrace His grace and let His love guide you toward a renewed, fulfilling journey?
INSPIRATION
1. What Your Counselor Never Told You by Dr. William Backus
2. The Lost Art of Thinking by Neil Nedley M.D
3. Character, Strengths, and Virtues by Christopher Peterson & Martin E. P. Seligman
4. King James Bible
