Pride

[*Zion*]

Leviticus 26v19

And I will break and humble your pride in your power, and I will make your heavens as iron [yielding no answer, no blessing, no rain] and your earth [as sterile] as brass.

1 Samuel 2v3

Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance go forth from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

1 Kings 12v32 - 13v6

12

³² And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast kept in Judah, and he offered sacrifices upon the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had made.

³³ So he offered upon the altar he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a date which he chose individually; and he appointed a feast for the Israelites and he went up to the altar to burn incense [in defiance of God’s law.]

13

1 And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

² The man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he offer the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.

³ And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Behold, the altar shall be split and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. [Fulfilled in II Kings 23:15, 16.]

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard the words the man of God cried against the altar in Bethel, he thrust out his hand, saying, Lay hold on him! And his hand which he put forth against him dried up, so that he could not draw it to him again.

⁵ The altar also was split and the ashes poured out from the altar according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

⁶ And the king said to the man of God, Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

2 Kings 19:28

Because your raging against Me and your arrogance and careless ease have come to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way you came, O king of Assyria.

2 Chronicles 26:16

But when [King Uzziah] was strong, he became proud to his destruction; and he trespassed against the Lord his God, for he went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Psalm 31:18

Let the lying lips be silenced, which speak insolently against the [consistently] righteous with pride and contempt.

Psalm 36:11

Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

Psalm 94:2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render to the proud a fit compensation

Matthew 23:12

Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor.

Luke 1:51

He has shown strength and made might with His arm; He has scattered the proud and haughty in and by the imagination and purpose and designs of their hearts.

1 Corinthians 1:31

So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.

2 Corinthians 10:5 [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

James 4:6

But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).

We all struggle with pride, so how do we get rid of it? How do we make ourselves humble? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question - if it is then I must be extremely proud if I can't get rid of it! It's definitely a fleshly issue, and we all must crucify the flesh, every day. But if it's so simple, why is it so hard?

Is it very simple? All I know is I want to be like Jesus. I have prayed about this, but maybe I need to do more - fast, and meditate on the verses above and so on. I don't want God to resist anything in me, or there to be any area in me not submitted to me. Thinking about it, I realise now that I am extremely proud!!! God, please help me! And the worst part? I have nothing to be proud about!!!!!!!

All thoughts, suggestions and PRAYERS extremely welcome. I'll try my best not to be proud in my responses, especially to the posts that are harder to swallow. We should all accept the truth IN LOVE.

***I suggest we all search our hearts concerning this matter as we respond to one another - it will help greatly in the understanding of this issue, surely!***

Blessings xx

[Nyoka]

I know excatly where you're at as I have been there done that and got the t-shirt lol. When I came to God I was so full of pride. God had to do a lot of work in me to get me where I am now - I come from a very proud, manipulative, vengeful family of athiests. I hope all pride is gone from me but I am not silly as I know somewhere I probably have some left but am now content to wait till God shows me where it is and what to do about it.

When God first started to show me how to deal with pride He first showed me this scripture so I would learn what humility was: 1Pe 5:5 Likewise, younger ones, be subject to older ones, and all being subject to one another. Put on humility. For God resists proud ones, but He gives grace to the humble. 1Pe 5:6 Therefore be humbled under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time. According to Strongs the word for humility here means:

G5424

φρήν

phrēn

frane

Probably from an obsolete φρáω phraō (to rein in or curb; compare G5420); the midrif (as a partition of the body), that is, (figuratively and by implication of sympathy) the feelings (or sensitive nature; by extension [also in the plural] the mind or cognitive faculties): - understanding.

According to this it is our mind and feelings we need to bring under control of God. This also lines up with another verse God showed me at the time: 2Co 10:3 For though walking about in flesh, we do not war according to flesh. 2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, 2Co 10:5 pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. This showed me that anything we do or say starts first with a thought. Pride also starts first with a thought so our mind will and emotions is where we must fight this battle.

I also needed to know why I needed to do this as, to me at that time, I could see no wrong in the prideful way I thought. I was shown the 'why' is because we have an enemy who wants to condemn us in what ever way he can: 1Pe 5:8 Be sensible and vigilant, because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour.

As a new believer I was unsure how to do this so I did the only thing I knew to do. I spent three months with God. How I did this was I spent the time dedicated to God. Apart from what I needed to do for daily living I spent every spare moment reading and studying the bible, talking with other believers (forums help here lol), leaning all I could of God and who He says I am and what He says I am to do and/or believe. I soon found that it is very true that what you give importance to is what you will follow. If anyone told me I needed to to believe this or do that to follow God I would ask them to show me from the bible, or try to find it myself, and if they couldn't, or I couldn't find it, I left it for now but asked God to bring it back to me later if it was something I needed to learn. I found out that sometimes I didn't find it or see it in the bible because I didn't know enough to find it and needed to learn more.

You have made a good start by asking and now you need to study, learn, ask questions when stuck and then, most important, apply what you learn, trusting God to do what you can't yet, no matter if you seem to be failing a lot or not. Remember it takes time to learn a new way and leave old ways and habits behind so don't be hard on yourself if you mess it up some. Instead pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again taking only the lesson learnt with you.

Hope this helps.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Nyoka

[Guest]

***I suggest we all search our hearts concerning this matter as we respond to one another - it will help greatly in the understanding of this issue, surely!***

Amen~!

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:10

Praying~!

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

And Pray For Me Beloved, Pray For Me

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Galatians 6:14

[NeedYouLord]

God Loves Us, Zion...and won't leave us as orphans...He started a good work in us and will complete it...if we don't give up...He works in us and sometimes it's not pleasant...but worth it...oh my, He Is Worth No Matter What I Have To Go Through...Love you much In Him, Kathy

[*Zion*]

Thanks guys for the responses so far, I am blessed! No, NYL, not intending to give up! I love Jesus, and more importantly, HE loved me first! Bless you all so much, will continue to post my thoughts as I meditate, contemplate, and learn...

[gdemoss]

Pride. <-- That is a tough one. My ego nearly killed me. God is good though and guided me to a man who had a knack for ego deflation without puncturing the grey matter and spilling it all over the floor.

One of my favorites is "Only by pride comes contention" from proverbs. It helps me to understand that when I am beginning to tense up and the tension increases to the point of becoming contention, I have a pride issue.

I had one for a moment this morning. I had something at work I did not want to do. My deceitful heart went to work immediately trying to figure out how to convince someone who has authority that it was not something that was necessary. My ego went to work when I met resistance and my favorite verse came to mind. I looked at the man and said "As soon as I get over myself I will be OK." and immediately I began to have relief from the tension.

Good topic Zion.

[NeedYouLord]

It is so great to hear you say that you are not giving up...Yeah!!! I remember when I truly realized I couldn't go back...There was nothing to go back to...I remember being shown all the masks-all the false pride I had...when I was this really good-no-I was this really great person...Hahaha...Like Gary...Pride oh my...I know about the grey matter almost spilling all over the floor...That's what Pride did to me...and I didn't have a thing to be proud of and still don't really...Just been powerfully changed and can humbly get down on my knees...

Now its all the masks are off and this is what God Created...What God Created...For His Purpose...For His Good Pleasure...Wow...

I remember too...Just writing out all my frustration on paper and ripping it up...Standing in a store and all of a sudden I needed to pore out my heart to this strange lady that was standing there...Oh yeah...she thought I was crazy and I apologized...I told her right then and there that she had been my psychiatrist...

It hasn't all been real fun...but worth it...and just think...we aren't done...as long as I have a breath in my body...That He Gives...I'm His...Thanks for letting me share again...

[*Zion*]

Good advice - "get over myself"... I'm beginning to think I need a 12-step. Am I over-thinking this?

Maybe I need a good spill on the floor, I don't know...

[angels4u]

1 Samuel 2:3 (#1 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

³"Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows,

and by him deeds are weighed.

Proverbs 8:13 (#2 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

¹³To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Proverbs 11:2 (#3 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

²When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 13:10 (#4 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

¹⁰Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

Proverbs 16:18 (#5 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 29:23 (#6 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

²³ A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 (#7 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

Isaiah 2:11 (#8 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

¹¹The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

Obadiah 1:3 (#9 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

³The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?'

2 Corinthians 12:20 (#10 of 10 Bible Verses about Pride and Arrogance)

²⁰For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

Source

Bible; New International Version

[*Zion*]

Thanks Angels4u, you'll notice that some of those scriptures I also included in the OP; but this is a definite fresh reminder: we need to see pride ( = sin) as God sees it - we need to absolutely loathe it! As David liked to say: "Be it far from me!"