PRIDE. it Kills....
PRIDE. This is for me is a number one killer. But before I say my views or anything else for this matter let me explain to you why I am writing this now. I don’t pertain to myself or a particular person and I don’t want to start a nasty thread replies; so I hope anyone of you who will read this – please know that this is for my own personal effect and I don’t want to trample down anyone or anything for that matter.
Like any other Blog out there its best to describe a subject, well that it what I am going to do next. What is PRIDE? According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride), it is an inwardly directed emotion that has two important meanings – Negative and Positive. Negative connotation pride refers to extravagant sense of a person’s status and/or accomplishments.
Pride is the virtue of respecting oneself. It is a human need to think highly of oneself. Without it, one would have no reason to trust one's ability to live. One would have no reason to accept that one's life is worthy of living. When we say Pride it is often associated with arrogance. Well for one, both seem to regard one as highly but they are two completely different word and meaning. Pride is a rational evaluation of oneself and arrogance doesn’t. Pride requires a person to think highly of his/her accomplishments and abilities. But accomplishments and abilities need to be worthy of the praise.
When we say True pride, on the other hand, is rational. It has the secondary consequence of making a person want to improve himself in order to feel greater pride. This secondary effect, though, is not the reason for accepting pride as a virtue. Pride is virtuous because one needs it to live. It is the pillar the supports one's mind. Without it, one would constantly question one's ability to make rational judgments. It would undercut reason, man's primary means of survival.
But what does the Bible say about Pride:
When we talk about the Bible saying about Pride it tells us the following truths – Pride was the the first sin ever made by Adam. Pride is a conceited superiority and it is a part of mind that tells a person that he is greater than anyone else. Yes, it is an arrogance that deceives people and tries to make us believe that we don’t need others or God, and it clearly says that we only need ourselves. Going back to Adam, when he took the fruit of the tree of knowledge from Eve, he knew what he was doing. He wanted to be the equal of God and already believed he knew better than God. (THE FALL OF MAN Genesis 3:1-24).
Talking about self-righteousness, this is another face of Pride. According to the Bible (Luke 18:11) "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." This just tells us that “My own way is right, and I don’t think others are!” It’s setting oneself above others and proclaiming that you are better than others. You see, Pride hardens the mind and refuses to hear the wisdom of anyone. It closes us off others and from God; it rejects all other wisdom.
When a person is full or pride and he is already closed minded, this brings consequences. As I read through to the Bible verses I stumbled upon two verses about the consequences of Pride: Daniel 5:20 ("But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him”) and Isaiah Chapter 14: pride leads to death (verse 15), pride is followed by scorn and ridicule (verses 16 and 17), and pride resulted in the destruction of his land and people (verse 20). We all know that egotistical stubbornness demands a price and that price is often steep.
A person that has so much Pride keeps us from the intimate relationship that God wants to have with us. Pride throws up a wall between God and us and rejects His help and guidance. In return, if we reject God’s help and guidance it will hinder our spiritual growth. "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." (Psalms 10:4) Rejecting God also hinders His ability to bless us. When were disobedient children, our parents didn't reward us for that disobedience. So it is with God. When we refuse His direction, leaning on our own arrogance, we are like disobedient children and cut ourselves off from His rewards.
Pride is a difficult thing. We can be in deep, deep, trouble just for having so much pride. This can hinder our relationship with your friends and family most especially with God. All of us want to be valuable and love but when we become so desperate for these things, we often develop an unhealthy pride to mask our anxiety. What I really want to reiterate here is that no matter what anyone thinks of us, God loves us and made us just right. We are not perfect individuals but God gave us individual gifts. He knows it; and we must learn it and get beyond the need to let everyone know about it.
Until my next blog…
Hersh
Like any other Blog out there its best to describe a subject, well that it what I am going to do next. What is PRIDE? According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride), it is an inwardly directed emotion that has two important meanings – Negative and Positive. Negative connotation pride refers to extravagant sense of a person’s status and/or accomplishments.
Pride is the virtue of respecting oneself. It is a human need to think highly of oneself. Without it, one would have no reason to trust one's ability to live. One would have no reason to accept that one's life is worthy of living. When we say Pride it is often associated with arrogance. Well for one, both seem to regard one as highly but they are two completely different word and meaning. Pride is a rational evaluation of oneself and arrogance doesn’t. Pride requires a person to think highly of his/her accomplishments and abilities. But accomplishments and abilities need to be worthy of the praise.
When we say True pride, on the other hand, is rational. It has the secondary consequence of making a person want to improve himself in order to feel greater pride. This secondary effect, though, is not the reason for accepting pride as a virtue. Pride is virtuous because one needs it to live. It is the pillar the supports one's mind. Without it, one would constantly question one's ability to make rational judgments. It would undercut reason, man's primary means of survival.
But what does the Bible say about Pride:
When we talk about the Bible saying about Pride it tells us the following truths – Pride was the the first sin ever made by Adam. Pride is a conceited superiority and it is a part of mind that tells a person that he is greater than anyone else. Yes, it is an arrogance that deceives people and tries to make us believe that we don’t need others or God, and it clearly says that we only need ourselves. Going back to Adam, when he took the fruit of the tree of knowledge from Eve, he knew what he was doing. He wanted to be the equal of God and already believed he knew better than God. (THE FALL OF MAN Genesis 3:1-24).
Talking about self-righteousness, this is another face of Pride. According to the Bible (Luke 18:11) "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." This just tells us that “My own way is right, and I don’t think others are!” It’s setting oneself above others and proclaiming that you are better than others. You see, Pride hardens the mind and refuses to hear the wisdom of anyone. It closes us off others and from God; it rejects all other wisdom.
When a person is full or pride and he is already closed minded, this brings consequences. As I read through to the Bible verses I stumbled upon two verses about the consequences of Pride: Daniel 5:20 ("But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him”) and Isaiah Chapter 14: pride leads to death (verse 15), pride is followed by scorn and ridicule (verses 16 and 17), and pride resulted in the destruction of his land and people (verse 20). We all know that egotistical stubbornness demands a price and that price is often steep.
A person that has so much Pride keeps us from the intimate relationship that God wants to have with us. Pride throws up a wall between God and us and rejects His help and guidance. In return, if we reject God’s help and guidance it will hinder our spiritual growth. "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." (Psalms 10:4) Rejecting God also hinders His ability to bless us. When were disobedient children, our parents didn't reward us for that disobedience. So it is with God. When we refuse His direction, leaning on our own arrogance, we are like disobedient children and cut ourselves off from His rewards.
Pride is a difficult thing. We can be in deep, deep, trouble just for having so much pride. This can hinder our relationship with your friends and family most especially with God. All of us want to be valuable and love but when we become so desperate for these things, we often develop an unhealthy pride to mask our anxiety. What I really want to reiterate here is that no matter what anyone thinks of us, God loves us and made us just right. We are not perfect individuals but God gave us individual gifts. He knows it; and we must learn it and get beyond the need to let everyone know about it.
Until my next blog…
Hersh
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