After Nathan, the prophet, revealed to David his sin regarding Bathsheba, David sat down and wrote Psalms 51. David had somehow managed to bury the reality of his sin in the deep crevices of his mind, escaping the remorse that should have plagued him from the moment of his offense.  But, once the true depth of his sin was exposed and brought to the forefront of his mind by the vivid illustration of Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1-5), he was finally overwhelmed with guilt (Psalms 51:1-4). In his state of contrition, David begs God for forgiveness. Something else he asked God for was a clean heart. David seemed to realize that the heart is where sin originates (Mark 7:21-23).

One of the sins mentioned by Jesus in Mark 7 is pride. The sin of pride is overlooked most of the time. After all, pride, it is thought by some, is not as bad as fornication, stealing, or covetousness, or one of the other many sins that are condemned by God. The truth, however, is that pride is deplorable to God. A proud look is the first of seven sins listed in Proverb 6 that are hated by God (Proverbs 6:16-19). Pride is an abomination to God and must be avoided if we want to maintain a relationship with Him and go to heaven.

The Illegitimate Offspring of Pride

Sinful attitudes beget sinful action (James 1:14-15). Since pride is a sin of the heart, we should expect that it will sooner or later cause one to sin outwardly. What are some sins that may be associated with a prideful heart?

1. Pride causes one to act without proper love (1 Corinthians 13:4). The importance of acting with proper love is seen, not only in the text of 1 Corinthians 13, but also by the nature of this love under consideration. The love that Paul deals with is agape. It is not just an emotional feeling, but rather a reasoned choice. Since this love is an act of the will, it can, and is, commanded by God (John 15:17; Eph. 5:25; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:18). To not act with this love, then, is to sin against God and man, and results in separation from God (1 John 3:14).

2. Pride causes one to ignore specific precepts of God. There are those who disobey God ignorantly. While this is not justifiable (Acts 17:30-31), those who willfully refuse to adhere to the Lord’s commands are worse, or at least worse off. Those ignorant of God’s Word might hear the gospel and obey, but those who have heard the Word and have shamelessly refused it, have no other recourse to deal with the sin in their lives. Often, it is pride that is behind their refusal to listen to God. Some are just too proud to bow. Many have developed the “Pharaoh mentality” that says, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” Great pride is demonstrated in such a statement, yet many feel the same way today. They may not be so blatant about it, but, nevertheless, they refuse to do God’s will because of their inordinate self-esteem or conceit. In the minds of many, their way is better than God’s way. Naaman displayed such an attitude when He refused to dip in the Jordan to be cleansed of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:11-13). Pride was behind his refusal. In anger, he said, “…Behold, I thought…” What did Naaman think? He thought that he had a better way. Cain showed the same mentality when he offered a sacrifice that was contrary to the instructions of God (Genesis 4:1-7). Pride causes people to disobey God because it convinces man that his way is better than God’s way.

This is the mentality that causes man to add innovations to the work and worship of God today.  For example, God commands that we sing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12), but man has come along and introduced the playing of musical instruments as a form of worship in the church.  They think it is a better way of worshipping.  Another example is found with those who preach and practice a social gospel. God’s word reveals that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), but some brethren have come along and said, in effect, God’s way is not good enough. We have a better plan for attracting souls. We will use fun and frolic to draw men to Jesus. Can we not see that pride is at the heart of this matter? God does not need man’s help. Let’s be humble enough to do what God says, how he says to do it, and nothing else.

3. Pride causes man to not give God glory. The classic biblical example of this is Nebuchadnezzar. In the height of his glory, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30). This great king did not realize that his greatness was given to him by God. Thus, God took his kingdom away and sent him into the field to live like a beast, eating the grass like oxen and growing feathers like a bird (Daniel 4:33). Finally, Nebuchadnezzar understood his sin and praised God, giving Him the glory for his greatness (Daniel 4:37).

Every servant of God should have this same attitude. Every preacher, elder, deacon, Bible class teacher, song leader, etc. should give God all the honor, praise, and glory for all that they do. Do not let pride ever cause you to rob God of His glory because, as Nebuchadnezzar learned, God is able to humble those who lift themselves up (Luke 18:14; James 4:6-10).