Overcome The Spirit Of Pride

By Brian January 11, 2023 Bible study 0 Comments

Defining Pride

What is Pride and why do we need to overcome it? Pride is something that dwells in all of us in one way or another. No one can say I don’t have pride or I have never had Pride since I was born this would be ridiculous. So what is Pride?

In Greek, the word for “pride” is “μεγαλοψυχία” (megalopsychía), which means a feeling of self-importance or self-esteem.

It can also refer to a sense of superiority or arrogance. In Hebrew, the word for “pride” is “גָאַוֹת” (ga’avot), which means a feeling of self-importance or self-esteem. It can also refer to a sense of arrogance or haughtiness.

Let’s begin with a scripture (Proverbs 16:18) – “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” This scripture is common to almost every Christian. Looking at the word destruction In Hebrew, the word for “destruction” is “שְׁמָדָה” (sh’madah), which means ruin, devastation, or destruction.

It can refer to the act of causing something to be destroyed or to the state of being destroyed or ruined. The word “שְׁמָדָה” is derived from the Hebrew root “שָׁמַד” (shamad), which means to destroy, ruin, or devastate. It is often used in the context of war or natural disasters, but can also be used to describe the destruction of other things, such as buildings or relationships.

Pride Goes Before A Fall

Have you heard of someone who lost his or her seat probably in government due to corruption or he or she was leading people but his or her leadership was not good? So he gets removed whereby he goes back to the original state he was in. I am certain you’ve heard of someone.

This is pride whenever there is self-importance that is you look down upon others. It’s always about you then you’re doomed for destruction. Pride is demonstrated in every place you can think of. If you’re watching something on the media or in a church or any other place.

Look at this other scripture (James 4:6) – “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This verse is significant we can’t talk about Pride without mentioning it. So God has opposed the proud but has given grace to the humble.

What’s the meaning here Let’s start with the word ‘Grace’. In Greek, the word for “grace” is “χάρις” (cháris), which means favour, kindness, or generosity. It can refer to a sense of goodwill or benevolence towards someone, or to the act of showing favour or kindness to someone.

Something happened to me sometime back in 2021. It was towards the end of the year i.e November. Now what happened to me felt like everybody had deserted me and now I was alone. But then God came for me. In other words, he gave me his grace in a very unique way.

The unforgiveness I had toward others just melted away. There was so much peace and love within me. Things began to accelerate in my life. This is to say God gives grace to the humble I CAN TESTIFY. So the moral lesson I remained humble and the results showed themselves.

What Is Real Humility, Low Self-Esteem and Pleasing Others?

I want us to look at the differences between humility i.e (HOW TO HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD) and also having low SELF-ESTEEM or trying to PLEASE others which are usually interpreted as humility by some and are NOT the case. Look at this verse “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:6 ESV)

Humility is given first to God. In other words, anyone who humbles himself before God cannot fail to humble himself before other people. Why? Paul says in this scripture “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

What about low self-esteem and pleasing others? Low self-esteem simply means a lack of confidence or a negative view of oneself. It is characterized by a lack of belief in one’s own abilities, values, or worth, and it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and vulnerability. So looking at this definition we can see that low self-esteem is having a negative view of yourself feelings of unworthiness or you don’t believe in your own abilities.

Now, this makes other people undermine you. Such a person will behave as if he is humble for example he or she will shy away from giving an opinion about a particular issue at hand when others are doing so. Remember we have defined low self-esteem as seeing low value or worth in yourself.

How To Overcome Low Self-Esteem

To overcome this, it’s all about having confidence in yourself. This can only come through Christ. The Bible says the righteous are as bold as a Lion. You can’t be a spirit-filled believer and LACK CONFIDENCE. One of the ways of dealing with this spirit is praying in the Holy Ghost I mean PRAYING IN TONGUES.

Look at when Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Observe this, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel. [continuation] “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

Peter is acknowledging that through Christ he has been set on high. From the same incident, Peter was able to bring to Christ 3,000 men. All these were through the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Let’s now talk about PLEASING OTHERS. Pleasing others can be considered a form of humility by some.

This is what the scripture says “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24) I believe this verse solves this kind of mentality.

Ways To Know If You Have Pride.

1. Whenever you’re somewhere in a place you always think and say ‘I am the most important person here’. In other words, you look down on others.

2. You look at your own interests more than other people’s interests. This means you don’t value others and what they have. Remember we have defined Pride as self-importance.

Conclusion

Lastly don’t confuse Pride with self-confidence. As well as maturity in someone. Pride is something totally different from these. Derek Prince a Bible teacher whom I listen to says in one of his revelations from God and reading the Bible that Pride IS THE MOST THING THAT GOD HATES.

What other ways can someone detect pride in somebody? Please post them in the comment section below.