I’m working through Proverbs and Proverbs 11:2 says…

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Pride can come in a lot of different forms. Probably one of the most obvious forms of pride is the in-your-face arrogance that we might expect from a celebrity or somebody that just can’t stop talking about themselves. That is certainly pride, but there is definitely way more to pride than that. One way to define pride would be a preoccupation with oneself. You’re the most interesting thing you think about. Life is pretty much about you. You don’t listen well because you have the most important things to say.

This preoccupation with self can take different forms however, and those are also the results of pride. For example, you may find someone who is always self deprecating. They always apologize and talk about how bad they are. This pride as well. They are completely preoccupied with themselves but just in a different way.

I came across a definition of humility one time that said, “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” Another one I saw was, “humility is not having a low opinion of yourself, it’s having no opinion of yourself.” The author of this particular book was saying that humility meant losing oneself so much in God and in love for others that the self dissipates as a result. A great speaker by the name of Louie Giglio talked about a sense of “smallness” that overtook him as he considered the greatness and majesty of God as demonstrated in the cosmos. This is the same idea.

In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis offers a helpful step in overcoming pride. Any person who seeks to overcome pride must admit that he or she is prideful. There are certainly other steps in involved, but this one must be taken if the journey towards humility is going to be embarked upon. I’ll go ahead and go first to get it out of the way….I’m prideful. I struggle with it. I’ve been noticing it more and more. I want to be humble and recognize that life would be much better if I was, but it’s a real challenge.

Now it’s your turn…