“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.”
(I Peter 5:5-6)
God hates pride! Just ask King Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel 4, after warning Nebuchadnezzar and waiting a year for him to humble himself, God’s patience finally ran out. God humbled him. God judged Nebuchadnezzar by striking him with a psychotic insanity called zoanthropy. He literally lived in the fields, eating grass like a wild animal for seven years.
C.S. Lewis referred to pride as the great sin. He wrote in Mere Christianity,
There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and which hardly any people ever imagine that they are guilty themselves . . . The essential vice, the utmost evil is pride . . . It was through pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind.”
Pride wants to be the center of attention. Pride never apologizes. Pride is defensive. Pride thinks only of oneself. Pride looks down on other people. But worst of all, pride keeps one from God. Pride is self-sufficient & has no need for God.
But, here’s the good news. God loves humility. After seven years of insanity, Nebuchadnezzar finally lifted his eyes to heaven (Daniel 4:34), and God immediately restored his sanity and his throne.
God wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to give Himself to you each and every day. So, humble yourself. Lift your eyes to heaven. Turn to God. A living, vibrant relationship with God comes only though humility.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I acknowledge that You are God and I’m not!
I long for a living, vibrant relationship with You.
So I confess my pride and humbly seek Your face.
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
