20 Years 20 Lessons - Lesson 5 - Pride Makes You Ugly on the Outside
If you look up Google’s definition of pride it seems like a harmless characteristic to possess. It simply states that pride is a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. What do you think? It doesn’t seem so bad so does it?
However our culture has taken pride to an entirely new level. Phrases like “I’m doing me” are meant to inspire when really they lead you down the wrong path. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines pride as inordinate self-esteem and conceit.
Having self pride, pride in our things or even pride in others is pride misplaced. Psalm 10:4 says this “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” In your daily thoughts what are you focusing on? Are you thinking of your net worth, your accomplishments, your children’s accomplishments or are you thinking about the fact that apart from God there is no good in you or this world? (see Psalm 16:2) The bible says every good and perfect gift comes from God. (see James 1:17)
Pride can show up in all different ways but the ugliest version I have seen in myself and in others throughout my 20 plus years in ministry is the pride demon that never wants to be wrong. I have seen people argue the grass is hot pink and ice is hot just for the sake of arguing to wear down another person so they can be right. Sounds ridiculous right? It is. I have seen marriages crumble because one or the other simply refuses to admit they made a mistake and humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. It can be as simple as forgetting to pay a bill or as heart wrenching as adultery. Then we have those people that can never EVER be wrong. This is the strongest demon that I’ve seen people fight.
Unfortunately I have seen very few and I mean few people come to altar and leave their pride there. It is so sad. It cripples them and they find themselves going around the same mountain their entire life and are never able to be free from it because they simply refuse to admit they are WRONG.
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
Humbling yourself before God and admitting you are wrong is a wisdom enhancing experience. It hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s life changing.
If you are asking yourself “Do I suffer from pride?” then let me ask you some questions.
1.Do you always have to be right?
2.Do you have to correct someone else when you think they are wrong?
3.Do your nostrils flare when someone offers constructive
criticism?
4.Do you find yourself constantly making excuses about a certain situation that you have been dealing with for an extended period of time?
5.Do you make excuses for your excuses?
6.Did this blog upset you and you are trying to find something wrong in it?
These are just some questions to get you started. If you answered yes to at least one of these questions then YES a pride demon has attached itself to you. If you answered YES to more than one of these questions then your bondage is severe. If you answered no to all of these questions and found yourself making excuses as to why you could answer no then you need to take another look. If you answered no to all of the above and you have gone through a life changing humbling situation where you can admit you are wrong when you are wrong, you don’t make excuses anymore and your desire is to continue to humble yourself before God and live according to His Word even if that means you have to decrease so He can increase...then congratulations! You are on your way.
Pride makes you ugly on the outside because of what seeps out from the inside. Have you ever seen a prideful person corrected? Their face turns up like they just sucked a lemon. Excuses start to fly out of their mouth and they become agitated. Some even lash out with horrible verbal attacks. It is ugly.
The only way to be rid of the demonic spirit Pride is to truly humble yourself before God. Start to acknowledge that you are not always right and allow the process to change you. You know you are being affected by this because it feels horrible. The deeper the pride the more sick you feel when trying to get rid of it. But I can promise you that once you have gone through the process you will feel so much better. You will see more clearly and those mountains you have been trying to tackle will suddenly become ant hills.
I wish this had been an early lesson in life for me but unfortunately it wasn’t. It wasn’t something that I learned myself until about 5 years ago. I began to see this spirit in others and one day I found myself making excuses as to why I was right about a certain situation in my life. Immediately this person I had been working with in counseling came to my mind. I recognized I was doing the exact same thing I had been teaching them not to do while in counseling. I did not want to be like them. I did not want to fight God the way they had. It took some time but after asking others to pray for me, studying the scriptures on pride and seeking God with all my heart the pride demon was finally rebuked.
I remember my husband came to me one day and said, “Can you please stop praying to be humbled….I think you’re there.” I laugh now...but it was not a fun process. One of my demons was my pride in material things. So...during the process we hit some financial difficulties that lead us to lose a lot of things. But God is so faithful to us. James 4:10 tells us that if we humble ourselves before God He will lift us up. He did that for me.
My encouragement to you is this - don’t wait to tackle the pride demon. If you knock him out first then the others will be a lot easier to get rid of.
Proverbs 13:10
Where there is strife, there is pride,
but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
However our culture has taken pride to an entirely new level. Phrases like “I’m doing me” are meant to inspire when really they lead you down the wrong path. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines pride as inordinate self-esteem and conceit.
Having self pride, pride in our things or even pride in others is pride misplaced. Psalm 10:4 says this “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” In your daily thoughts what are you focusing on? Are you thinking of your net worth, your accomplishments, your children’s accomplishments or are you thinking about the fact that apart from God there is no good in you or this world? (see Psalm 16:2) The bible says every good and perfect gift comes from God. (see James 1:17)
Pride can show up in all different ways but the ugliest version I have seen in myself and in others throughout my 20 plus years in ministry is the pride demon that never wants to be wrong. I have seen people argue the grass is hot pink and ice is hot just for the sake of arguing to wear down another person so they can be right. Sounds ridiculous right? It is. I have seen marriages crumble because one or the other simply refuses to admit they made a mistake and humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. It can be as simple as forgetting to pay a bill or as heart wrenching as adultery. Then we have those people that can never EVER be wrong. This is the strongest demon that I’ve seen people fight.
Unfortunately I have seen very few and I mean few people come to altar and leave their pride there. It is so sad. It cripples them and they find themselves going around the same mountain their entire life and are never able to be free from it because they simply refuse to admit they are WRONG.
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
Humbling yourself before God and admitting you are wrong is a wisdom enhancing experience. It hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s life changing.
If you are asking yourself “Do I suffer from pride?” then let me ask you some questions.
1.Do you always have to be right?
2.Do you have to correct someone else when you think they are wrong?
3.Do your nostrils flare when someone offers constructive
4.Do you find yourself constantly making excuses about a certain situation that you have been dealing with for an extended period of time?
5.Do you make excuses for your excuses?
6.Did this blog upset you and you are trying to find something wrong in it?
These are just some questions to get you started. If you answered yes to at least one of these questions then YES a pride demon has attached itself to you. If you answered YES to more than one of these questions then your bondage is severe. If you answered no to all of these questions and found yourself making excuses as to why you could answer no then you need to take another look. If you answered no to all of the above and you have gone through a life changing humbling situation where you can admit you are wrong when you are wrong, you don’t make excuses anymore and your desire is to continue to humble yourself before God and live according to His Word even if that means you have to decrease so He can increase...then congratulations! You are on your way.
Pride makes you ugly on the outside because of what seeps out from the inside. Have you ever seen a prideful person corrected? Their face turns up like they just sucked a lemon. Excuses start to fly out of their mouth and they become agitated. Some even lash out with horrible verbal attacks. It is ugly.
The only way to be rid of the demonic spirit Pride is to truly humble yourself before God. Start to acknowledge that you are not always right and allow the process to change you. You know you are being affected by this because it feels horrible. The deeper the pride the more sick you feel when trying to get rid of it. But I can promise you that once you have gone through the process you will feel so much better. You will see more clearly and those mountains you have been trying to tackle will suddenly become ant hills.
I wish this had been an early lesson in life for me but unfortunately it wasn’t. It wasn’t something that I learned myself until about 5 years ago. I began to see this spirit in others and one day I found myself making excuses as to why I was right about a certain situation in my life. Immediately this person I had been working with in counseling came to my mind. I recognized I was doing the exact same thing I had been teaching them not to do while in counseling. I did not want to be like them. I did not want to fight God the way they had. It took some time but after asking others to pray for me, studying the scriptures on pride and seeking God with all my heart the pride demon was finally rebuked.
I remember my husband came to me one day and said, “Can you please stop praying to be humbled….I think you’re there.” I laugh now...but it was not a fun process. One of my demons was my pride in material things. So...during the process we hit some financial difficulties that lead us to lose a lot of things. But God is so faithful to us. James 4:10 tells us that if we humble ourselves before God He will lift us up. He did that for me.
My encouragement to you is this - don’t wait to tackle the pride demon. If you knock him out first then the others will be a lot easier to get rid of.
Proverbs 13:10
Where there is strife, there is pride,
but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
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