The Destruction of Pride
by Annie Yorty
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard and seen the word “pride” this month. But have we forgotten the timeless truth about the destruction of pride? For all those celebrating pride this month, or at any time, watch out. The fall will come.
A Pride Destruction Story
My friend, who shall remain nameless, tells the story about a literal fall that came from her foolish pride. Young and attractive, she enjoyed flaunting her . . . let’s say . . . assets. While shopping one day, she came across a hideously expensive pair of stiletto heels—way out of her budget. But when she tried them on, her long legs looked gorgeous. She went into debt to buy them.
The next day, wearing a short dress and her new strappy spikes, she pranced into work. No doubt all eyes riveted on her.
“Nice shoes,” a co-worker quipped as they headed up the stairs together.
“Thanks, don’t you just love them?” My friend preened.
Almost before the words were out of her mouth, she dropped down to the stair, tail over teakettle. If you don’t know this idiom, it means she was revealing all her assets. Every last one of them.
Scrambling to her feet, my red-faced friend held up one heel-less shoe and limped away to her desk. Her shoes, wallet, and pride were all destroyed in that fall.
We’ve all Fallen
Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall (Proverbs 16:8 NLT).
Have you ever experienced a time when your pride got the best of you, prompting a fall? It’s usually not a literal fall, like my friend. But sometimes the figurative falls are even more painful.
The people celebrating pride say, “Look at me! I’m so special.” They magnify themselves, wanting to appear larger, more exaggerated. Are they trying to convince others, or themselves?
The History of Pride
This behavior is nothing new. Satan was a magnificent angel of light created by God to beautify heavenly worship. Called “Day Star of Dawn,” Satan chose to magnify himself above God. His pride led to a tumble from heaven to earth. In fact, God, through the prophet Isaiah, promises Satan’s end will be utter destruction in the pit of hell (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Pride always causes destruction.
But is it possible to destroy pride?
And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 NLT).
If God opposes pride, then He certainly gives a way of escape from this sin (1 Corinthians 10:13). As James says, God pours out His grace upon those who come humbly to Him for help.
3 Ways to Destroy Pride Before (and After) You Fall
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Practice Gratitude
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused (Romans 1:21 NLT).
We often fail to remember who gave us our strengths, the characteristics that elicit the most pride. Beauty, brains, brawn, belongings—they all come from God. We often work to enhance or develop our God-given attributes, so we forget the Source.
Beauty, brains, brawn, belongings—they all come from God. Click To TweetBring the light of gratitude into your mind to dispel pride by thanking God every day.
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Focus on God
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together (Psalm 34:3 ESV)!
We humans have limited bandwidth for focus. If we zero in on one thing, we usually exclude something else. When we fix our eyes on the character of God, we’re less likely to incessantly look at ourselves. Magnifying God diminishes self-promotion.
As we focus on God, we also develop a truer sense of the basis of our own worth. Fashioned in the image of God, our value derives solely from His character and purpose. Value manufactured by us based on any intrinsic or extrinsic characteristics is false. It leaves us dissatisfied, pridefully craving more and more attention and glory.
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Care for Others
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too (Philippians 2:3-4 NLT).
Meeting the needs of another person, especially when there’s no benefit to ourselves, teaches us humility, the opposite of pride. It diverts our attention from self-focus that leads to pride’s fall.
God’s Wisdom
Ridding yourself of pride seems counterintuitive. After all, if we don’t promote ourselves, who will?
Strange as it may seem, God will. He, unlike us, knows how to honor without invoking sinful pride.
God knows how to honor you without invoking sinful pride. Click To TweetHumble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor (James 4:10 NLT).
God knows the right timing, purpose, and way to honor you. Will you leave it to Him and avoid the destruction of pride?
Join the conversation:
What other ways can you think of to bust pride?
I welcome your comments!
A Father's Influence
25 Comments
Nancy E. Head
I love the way you crafted this post, Annie. It’s truth that’s not in your face. All are prone to pride.
Annie Yorty
Thank you, Nancy. It’s easy to shake our heads at others, but we’re all so prone to pride.
Barbara Latta
Pride is what caused Lucifer to fall and has been the calamity of mankind ever since. Satan has distorted truth with making “pride” about sin something to flaunt. Being next to an Army base, and shopping on it, the military displays their “pride” signs as we have to put up with the recognition of the LBGTQ. I think it is really disgusting that this is not only recognized but applauded while some instances of religious freedoms are squelched. Pride does go before a fall, and hopefully, this kind of pride will fall and truth shall prevail.
Annie Yorty
God has been so merciful as our country has chosen this path, Barbara. But there will certainly be natural consequences to our national behaviors. This is just one more religion. We need to remember “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
J.D. Wininger
Well said author! One of those “root sins” as I like to call it, pride can extol a terrible price when unchecked. So many confuse confidence with pride; and they are very different mindsets. I’ve often said, “Confidence comes with the quietness of humility, where pride is shouting its folly as it enters the room.” Loved this post ma’am; and yes, I too have heard far too much about pride in the past month.
Annie Yorty
Thank you, J.D., for sharing that truth. I will remember it.
Katherine Pasour
Your message gives me an “Ouch!” and a “Praise the Lord!” moment. I remember many instances when pride got me in BIG trouble. Your three actions are right on target and thankfully, God led me to make significant changes along life’s journey. I’m so grateful He never gives up on us.
Annie Yorty
Been there, done that too, Katherine. But God is merciful. I’m so grateful too.
Sarah Schwerin
Thank you for your timely words. A figurative fall is much harder than a literal one. Great reminder to put my pride in the Lord.
Annie Yorty
Yes, Sarah, let’s boast all day long about Him!
Jeannie Waters
Annie, thank you for leading us to contemplate this topic. I love the section “Focus on God.” When we do that, pride loses.
Annie Yorty
Jeannie, thanks so much for visiting and adding a comment here!
Judy Snow
Such truth here, Annie. As you said, keeping our eyes on God – in thanksgiving, His Word, and His guidance through ministry – will squelch pride in our lives. As we face “pride” in our society, may we be ever open to hearing and speaking God’s truth in our daily lives – from our families to our coworkers to our cities and to our country. May the beauty of Jesus be seen in me so that others will look beyond themselves and pride that destroys, to a realization that all we have and all we are are from God – the Soutce of who we are. Thank you so much for sharing these truths!
Annie Yorty
Thank you, Judy, for visiting and commenting! What a worthy cause–to reflect Jesus so well that we all realize how foolish it is to boast in anything but Him.
April Jolllie
As I was reading the psalms this month, the word pride comes up a lot and not in a good way. I just had this conversation with my family because most people think pride is a good thing. We’re proud to belong to a certain school, organization, or our own skills. But proverbs 29:23 says a man’s pride shall bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. Thanks for the reminder that the Lord does not view pride like the world does.
Annie Yorty
Good points, April. We feel pride or pleasure in our children too. I think that might come closest to our Father’s heart when He looks on us. But we often carry it to the point of believing that the good they do is because of our parenting rather than because of God’s grace. Thanks for visiting!
Barb Fox
Annie,
Loved the story about the heels…it is a fitting picture that lets us see how easy it is to fall into these destructive thought patterns. Thanks for providing the helpful insights to get us back on track.
Annie Yorty
Barb, thanks for visiting. We certainly need to be on our guard, don’t we?
Sylvia Schroeder
Love this Annie!
Annie Yorty
Thanks, Sylvia, for visiting!
Heidi Vertrees
Ann Bomgardner Yorty, thank you for your solid writing on such an important topic! You sure had a good human interest intro…a literal fall, all tied up in pride and vanity. Your writing is very clear and I appreciate all the organized breaks in the text.
Annie Yorty
Thanks, Heidi. I appreciate your visit!
Jennifer
You always do an amazing job confronting hard topics in a beautiful way. Pride effects us all in some way or another. Thank you for this reminder.
Annie Yorty
You’re very kind, Jennifer. All glory to God alone! We all must be on guard against that sneaky pride.
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