“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14
Pride. The feeling of an unreasonable overestimation of one’s own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve and often contempt of others. It is an overly high sense of one’s own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or unworthy of one, otherwise known as arrogance.
This is the quality that was displayed by this Pharisee. He felt that he was good and righteous, as he boasted about his achievements in his prayers to God. “I fast, I give tithes.” As if the Lord wasn’t already aware of everything already, he made it a point to boast up himself during his prayers to God. That is pride.
“I give tithes. I fast during the week.” Pride. Prayer is our way of asking the Lord for help, for praising Him, and thanking Him. Yet the Pharisee used it to praise himself. “I’m so great, I’m so good, I’m so wonderful. I’m better than you, I’m better than those people over there, and I certainly am better than this wicked man.” Doesn’t that sound so vain?!
Have you ever made loaf bread before? In a regular bread recipe you have flour, salt, water, oil, and maybe sugar. Oh, one more ingredient: yeast. Growing up, fresh bread was always in the house and something that I learned about bread-making was that once you mixed all of the ingredients up and placed the dough into their loaf pans that you did not want to bump them sharply as the bread “rose.” If you did, the dough would “fall flat” and the bread wouldn’t be all nice and puffy.
It was the yeast that would bring about this rising action in the dough, and that is similar to how pride in a person will “puff” them all up inside. It will give them the feeling that they are better than others, while they are actually the exact same. A sinner.
Many, many times in the Bible it teaches and warns how much God hates pride and how it will be punished. Like a loaf of bread that has been bumped, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
If you believe that you don’t need any assistance with something, then you won’t go seeking for help, will you? If a man believes that he is faultless, then he won’t go searching to become better.
Psalms 10:4 “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”
All have sinned, the Bible teaches, but pride in one’s life will cause a person to become blind to their own faults and shortcomings. They will not feel the desire or need to change. Why? Because of their pride.
James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
Pride should have no place in the life of a Christian, as it is a quality that Christ never displayed, ever. Any pride, no matter how small, needs to be immediately gotten rid of and changed into humility. Meekness. Lowliness.
When it is your turn to stand before the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and Earth, what do you want to happen? Do you want to be led through the heavenly gates, or do you want to be cast out? Then cast out your pride first!
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 