Pride Goes Before Destruction

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Prov. 16:18, NASB). This is my third year working as a substitute teacher in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. At the present time I am working in an elementary school. I am assigned to work in the Special Education area where most of the children that I work with are in kindergarten. Many of these children are “inclusion” students, meaning that I give personal assistance to the student who is participating in a regular classroom setting. This last Wednesday I had an interaction with one of my students that reminded me of a Bible verse that my mother quoted often. When we would get too sassy or high minded my mother would repeat the words of Proverbs 16:18 as recorded in the King James Version of the Bible. It says: “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Let me tell you how this child, that I will call Chris, reminded me of my mother quoting this verse. I was trying to get Chris to let me help him with a task. He refused and insisted that he could do it himself. He did not need my help. I repeated my offer to him, but he refused each time. I asked the teacher for a small sheet of paper and, I wrote the following random notes: I wrote a title “Pride Goes before Destruction.” The first note says, “I can do it myself. I don’t need any help.” The second note says, “I don’t believe in you. I don’t believe what you say.” Thirdly, I can’t help you. I will do what I can. I remembered the Scripture that tells us that in a certain situation Jesus was not able to do much work because of their unbelief, but He did what He could. As you can see the last note refers to my response to Chris’ statements to me. I added to this note “not much works; only healed a few” (see Matt. 13:58; Mark 6:5). I wrote down some applications: admit my inadequacies; admit my need for help; ask for help (If you will you can make me whole). As Jesus was leaving Jericho a blind man called out to Him and said “‘Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me!’” (Mark 10:47, NASB). “And answering him, Jesus said, ‘what do you want Me to do for you?’ And the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, I want to regain my sight’” (v.51) and Jesus healed the man. I was reminded of the prayers of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee was lifted up in pride and self righteousness while the tax collector saw only his need for God’s mercy (Luke 18:10-14). This incident and my notes led me to write about pride which is self destructive. As I stated above, my mother often quoted Proverbs 16:18. Pride is one of the seven things that are an abomination to God (Prov. 6:16-19). Proverbs 16:18 makes reference to both pride and a haughty spirit. Both words refer to the person who elevates him or herself above God and other people. In the wisdom literature of the Bible and particularly in Proverbs pride has the opposite effects of wisdom. We get knowledge and wisdom when we fear and reverence God. We become fools when we are lifted up in pride because pride means that we see ourselves more important than God. It means that we see ourselves as being independent of God. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7, NASB). “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (9:10, NASB). The entirety of Proverbs pictures a father instructing his son to learn wisdom and shun evil. He is to learn the mind of God, and, he is to live according to the ways of God. Thus, wisdom means doing it God’s way while pride means what is said in the words of the song sung by the late Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way.” Later, I thought about Chris. I remembered the tone in his voice as well as his words. I remembered the expression on his face. His expression is important because three-fourths of communication is non verbal. I asked myself if Chris was speaking from pride or was he really just trying to express to me his confidence in himself. Are self confidence and self esteem things that come from God? Are these biblical principles? I think that it depends on how one sees him or herself in relation to God in their life. I thought about King David. When the giant Goliath challenged Israel all the soldiers trembled with fear. David gained access to King Saul and told the king that he was willing to face the giant (1 Samuel 7:31-32). David expressed his confidence to overcome the giant. However, it must be noted that David’s confidence rested not on his own abilities. Rather, David had experienced victories over the lion and the bear because the Lord delivered him from their paws (v. 37). David faced the Philistine giant in the name of the Lord and won the victory (vv. 39-50). We can say that David acted wisely because he elevated God above himself. David was able to admit his own inadequacies and his need for help from the Lord. I thought of the prophet Isaiah in the famous chapter 6 of his book. Isaiah went to the temple to worship. In a vision he saw God elevated to a height so high that the temple could barely contain only the skirt tail of the Lord’s robe. He saw the angels flying to and fro singing praise to the Lord; “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa. 6:3). It is after that Isaiah sees God elevated that he sees his need for God and humbles himself to go and speak for God. “Then I said ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts’” (Isa 6:5, NASB). “Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (v. 8b). Whereas David, Isaiah, the tax collector and the blind man acted wisely by elevating God, King Saul like the Pharisee was lifted up in pride, elevating himself above God. After Saul was made king of Israel he gathered an army of 3000 soldiers. Saul and his son Jonathan begin to gain victories over the Philistines (1 Sam. 13:1-7). When the prophet Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal for the offering Saul took it upon himself to offer the burnt offering. When Samuel arrived, he discovered what Saul had done. He said to Saul, “‘You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ‘But now your kingdom shall not endure’” (vv. 13, 14). When Saul was killed in battle, his son Jonathan was killed also leaving no heir to the throne. God gave the kingdom to David and his descendants. Acting foolishly with a haughty spirit, Saul’s actions led to his destruction. Bible commentary author and editor Max Anders make two relevant statements about pride. The first is, “The core attitude of sin is self-centeredness. We choose to put ourselves in the center of the universe, to seat ourselves on the throne of our lives. And when we do, we ruin our chances for healthy relationships with other people and place ourselves in the crosshairs of God’s judgment.” (Max Anders, “Proverbs” in Holman Old Testament Commentary, vol. 13 [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005], 184). Anders further states, “Pride was the keynote of Satan’s original rebellion against God, and it is the root of our conflicts with the Lord and with others. You might say that pride is self-centeredness turned outward’ (Ibid.). In conclusion, let us strive to do the best that we can in life. In our efforts we are to make and keep God as the center of our lives. Pride destroys while wisdom brings prosperity.