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I’m speaking at Point Loma University this week. Last night I was given the topic of sin to speak on. The theme for this camp is confronting the “me-centered” culture we live in today. So, I decided to talk about the sin of pride. I did explain what sin is, the fact that it separates us from God (Romans 6:23), and we all have the same issue (Romans 3:23). But here’s a couple of the thoughts I included in my message regarding pride:
- Pride is a focus, defense of and exaltation of self.
- Pride denies it’s own existence.
- Pride kills. I’ve never heard of a marriage breaking up because both people were too humble. I’ve never heard of a church splitting because it was filled with too many humble people. Pride kills.
- The first sin was pride. Satan sinned in this way. And in 1 Peter 5:8-9 we see him “prawling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” So, my point was that if this is what drew him away it’s possible that this is one of the biggest ways he seeks to draw us away as well. And I happen to think it’s worked really well in our culture. At the very core of our cultural beliefs is “the personal right” to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That last part, pursuit to happiness, has crept into the church far too much. We often make life all about us (pride) and our personal happiness. People in the church even rationalize away sound biblical teaching by stating, “God wants me to be happy, right?” I see that rationale all the time, especially in marriages heading toward divorce.
- Since pride is a focus on self it is in direct opposition to what Jesus says in Luke 9:23-25. And it seems as though it’s in direct opposition to the reason for Christ dying as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. In other words, our focus on ourselves (pride) is contradictory to the gospel message.
I made it clear that we all struggle with this, but we have to be honest about it. Again, pride denies it’s own existence, so I wanted all to realize that it does in fact exist and to understand the ramifications of it in our lives. Anyway, just some thoughts that I thought could speak to you today on a personal level. If we’re not careful pride can also kill our ministry. Be watchful (1 Peter 5:8).
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