Pride is described as:
- self sufficiency
- independence
- self righteous
- boastfulness
- superiority
- does not listen well
- stubborn
- not eager to learn
- not quick to admit wrong
- competitive
- easily threatened
- insecure
God's gifts are not on shelves one above the other so that the taller you grow the easier you reach them. They are on shelves one below the other so that by bending lower you get his best. Jeremiah declares, "The Lord says, 'Wise men should not boast of their wisdom, nor strong men of their strength, nor rich men of their wealth. If anyone wants to boast, he should boast that he knows and understands me" (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Paul asks, "Who made you to be superior to others? Didn't God give you everything you have? Well, then, how can you boast as if what you have were not a gift" (1 Corinthians 4:7)?
Fame is man-given, so be grateful. Flattery is like perfume: it is meant to be sniffed, not swallowed. It quickly becomes addictive. Pride enslaves us to the opinions of others. What they think controls our lives.
Conceit is self-given, so be careful. Remember the steamboat Abe Lincoln described: it had a six foot boiler and a nine foot whistle. Every time the whistle blew it took so much steam the engine stopped.
Remember the frog who saw the ducks flying south for the winter. When he asked them why, they said, "Because it is warmer there." He said, "I'd like to do that too." So he found a stick and asked two ducks to take each end in their mouth while he held on with his mouth in the middle. It worked! Then as they flew over Caltech an engineering student saw them and said, "That's amazing. I wonder who thought of that." The frog answered, "I did!"
Pride has two seasons: a forward spring and an early fall. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
"Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up in his good time."
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