Humble or Proud?

"I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit..." (Isaiah 57: 14)

"God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble." (James 4:6)

Nothing is more abominable and detestable to God than is sinful pride. A "haughty spirit" is an ugly thing. God hates the "proud look" (Proverbs 6: 17) and the "proud walk." (Daniel 4: 37)

It is this pride of heart that keeps people from seeking and finding God. "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." (Psalm 10: 4)

Pride is thinking too highly of oneself. The end of pride is self glorification and deification. Pride is expressed in many ways, in words, actions, and deeds. Pride rules attitude and corrupts good character.

"Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits." (Romans 12: 16)

Pride and conceit go together. Conceit may be defined as "excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue." Pride has a wrong view of self, and is what might be called inordinate self appraisal. Pride is looking into a vanity mirror of falsehood that is deceiving and that masks the truth about ourselves.

While God hates and despises the proud in heart, he loves and blesses the humble and contrite. "To this man will I look," says the Lord, "even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66: 2)

We are commanded by God to "humble ourselves." "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." (James 4: 10) That is an imperative, a command. Does that imply that we can remove our own pride from heart, that we can humble our own hearts and minds? No, it does not; and, if anyone attempts to conquer pride himself, he will meet will failure. The Lord taught Job this when he questioned him thusly:

"Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low...Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee." (Job 40: 9,11,12,14)

God tells Job that he will confess Job's deity and sovereignty if Job will do but one thing - go out and humble someone's heart! Go out and bring the haughty spirit and make it lowly and meek! Go ahead, try it Job! See how easy or hard it is! God was telling Job to go and do what he knew Job could not do!

Why would God tell men to humble themselves when they cannot do it? Why for this simple reason. God must demonstrate the cockiness of man by asking him to do what he cannot do. Only then will the man see that he has greatly over estimated himself and see that if he is ever truly humbled, ever delivered from sinful pride, only God will be able to do it for him.

The Lord, through the prophet, complained of many Israelites, saying:

"They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers. Therefore...I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah." (Jeremiah 44: 9-11)

Again, only God can humble the hard heart that is full of self. Friend, if you are fighting this terrible disease, then call upon the Lord, the great heart surgeon, for he can truly humble the proud heart.