Can you recognize the attempted actualization of pride in its initial stage within you?
With no offence intended, perhaps if I stated it differently, you would be able to better understand the statement, can you feel pride beginning to well up inside of you? Pride of course, is highly sought out in the world of the lost, we as a people desire recognition, we want others to see our accomplishments and recognize us for them, we are told from our youth to be proud of our deeds, we are offered awards in many different forms for them, but praise is the one we seek out the most. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov. 16:18)
What we can do lifts us up, what we cannot do demeans us, we have actually been taught that pride is an uplifting emotion that we are to seek for, and the greater our accomplishment, the greater the amount of that emotion we can experience.
As a born-again believer, we know that pride is a sin, but unless one recognizes the complete Sovereignty of the Lord God, one cannot begin to battle that sin within us. Pride cannot be purchased, it must be sought out, and unless it is recognized by others, it can never reach its fulfilment, save in those who are the most deceived. One must wonder about Ezekiel 28:15, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” That iniquity, that sin was pride in Lucifer, he recognized his ability to do things that others could not, his station, his position in heaven was above those of his fellows, and he saw this as being “better than,” his abilities were recognized by him, in part, by his coercing of one third of his fellow angels, he was able to modify their way of thinking, and God allowed it to occur.
His desire to be recognized for that which he received was the initial appearance of pride, and as far as we are told, he did not attempt to quench it.
Pride says, “I will” with no regard whatsoever to the Sovereignty of the Most High, and it is, loosely spoken here and in great ignorance on my part, a “necessary evil,” for without the ability to sin, there can be no free will. That free will that all angels and men possess is of no purpose whatsoever unless it recognizes the Lord God as the giver of it, and it becomes sin when we attempt to deceive ourselves into believing that our existence is possible without Him. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)
From the first words in the Scriptures the Author of all that is, is revealed to us, pride is what denied that truth, and Satan was the first created being to recognize it. This sin is so ingrained in us that it is almost inconceivable to live without it, after all, because of your studying, you passed the test, because of years devoted to your craft, you are able to perform those tasks efficiently, because of your efforts, you have attained goals, and it is only befitting and right that you should experience a sense of accomplishment, that you should be proud of what you have done.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)
The sin of pride, as nearly all sin does, begins as a temptation, and in that initial moment when it appears, we must recognize it, or it will immediately overpower us. Pride attempts to say, “I did something without God,” and I should be recognized for what it is, foolishness in the extreme, either in the case of the angelic hosts, or by those that will return to dust. He who spoke everything into existence, He that holds all together by whom all things consist, is the only One that is ever to receive glory, honor and praise, He is the only One worthy of it. Nothing that is done for any other reason besides the glory of God will last, and there are billions of souls in hell right now that will attest to this truth.
