a sample chapter from Chris’ book, “Guided by Wisdom,” to be released in November
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride is a tough topic to deal with because we all feel it, yet the Bible says pride is a sin, period. The sin of pride is when we exalt ourselves, replacing our faith in God with faith in ourselves. In the Bible, pride is almost always connected to haughtiness and arrogance. It suggests lifting ourselves higher than others, bragging about ourselves, and disregarding others in place of self.
Proverbs 21:24
24 A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride.
Imagine scoring a game-winning goal or playing a difficult piece to perfection at a piano recital. We would feel proud of the accomplishment, right? The pride we feel has two potential sources: either from within ourselves over what we’ve accomplished, or from God and what He accomplished through the gifts He gave us. When you accomplish something, we can either say, “I did it,” or “Isn’t God awesome that He gave me this ability and led me to use it for His glory!”
Pride
Sample chapter from Guided by Wisdom
Proverbs 21:24 calls a proud person a scoffer. A scoffer is a person who makes fun of someone or mocks something, which is often something in a religious framework. Now we can see that when we take all the credit for what God has given us, according to Proverbs 21, it is like we are mocking God.
1 Samuel 2:3
3 “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.
To fight against pride, we must continue to give God the glory for who He has made us to be and for what He has gifted to us. This is a choice we must consciously make. Our parents can say, with honest hearts, they are proud of us. We are their children, and they delight in us the same way God delights in His children (see Psalm 18:19). But parents can’t say they are proud of what they have made us into, or proud of the path they have laid out for us, because this is pride that robs God of His glory.
Proverbs 11:2
2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.
The opposite of pride is humility, and we, as believers, strive to be humble. A humble person cannot be haughty or arrogant. Their hearts express love and compassion, which are natural by-products of humility. Humility reminds us that all people—the rich, the homeless, the famous, the convict, and the depressed—come from the same place in the eyes of God, fallen under the curse of sin. No one is better than anyone else, and we all need the saving grace of Jesus Christ. This path of knowing we are not perfect and are not better than any other person, shows us how to love and helps us to love like Jesus loved.
Now we can see why pride brings destruction and shame. Pride focuses on self and takes away the love we have to offer to others. Pride separates us from God and causes us to lose sight of His character and presence, blinding us to our sin and keeping us from repenting to God and seeking Him for our needs, wisdom, peace, and joy.
Guided by Wisdom, the first book in the Every Step series, shows adolescents how they can use the Bible to help them respond biblically to challenges and questions they face every day. It will show them how God’s Word is relevant in decision making and problem solving, guidance and character growth.
Look for it to release in November, 2023, on Sing Write Read / Books.
13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Sometimes being honest is hard. It is the nature of the selfish heart to cover up our mistakes and crimes. We have all told lies to avoid trouble or shame or kept quiet when we should have confessed to something.
Proverbs 28:21
21 To show partiality is not good, Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.
We all make mistakes—every one of us. Imperfection is a universal trait. That is why we need a savior, because evil and sin cannot stand in the presence of God. Jesus took the penalty of our sin, and in doing so, He made it possible for us to stand before God. God will forgive our sins because Jesus paid for them. Our tendency to be dishonest is one of the more obvious ways we all sin and fall short of perfection. It is easy to do and it is often effective. Proverbs 28:21 tells us being dishonest is so easy that we’ll do it for a piece of bread.
Proverbs 19:5
5 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.
Dishonesty is a sin, and there are consequences, even if we happen to not get caught. For one, it bothers our consciences. When we lie and have deceived someone, we feel bad about it. We know we have done wrong and while we may have avoided trouble for ourselves, we likely passed that trouble on to someone else who didn’t deserve it. That is selfish. God hears every lie, and lying will not go unpunished. We don’t always get caught, but we will always be punished because our consciences won’t let us off free and clear. There is always a spiritual consequence to sin.
We will face temptations to be dishonest all our lives. Sometimes it won’t seem to matter if the truth is known or not. In fact, it may appear to be beneficial to everyone if the truth is hidden away forever. But we live in a dishonest world and adding more dishonesty to it makes our world a darker place. When we live with the Spirit of God in our hearts, then our hearts will desire to do the right thing, even when it is the hard thing. By focusing on the word of God we become sensitive to even the smallest sins, which are often simple little lies. A half-truth is a whole lie.
Guided by Wisdom, the first book in the Every Step series, shows adolescents how they can use the Bible to help them respond biblically to challenges and questions they face every day. It will show them how God’s Word is relevant in decision making and problem solving, guidance and character growth.
Look for it to release in November, 2023, on Sing Write Read / Books.
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