THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE – 38 Ego: The Root Of Pride
"11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage" (2 Kings 5:11-12). KJV
Loved ones, in our Spiritual Battle, Satan uses pride as an effective tool to remove Christians from the battlefield. The root of pride is the ego, and the ego is based in the flesh.
Consider Jesus' words in Mark 7:21-23: " 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Paul tells us that these are all works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).
Pride is deceitful and insidious, and it is easy to be deceived by pride (Obidiah 3). The flesh is deceitful, making us think that we are worth some worldly object. This is why the apostle Paul told us not to be deceived by it: "7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8). Pride sows to the flesh, and it will destroy us if it goes unchecked.
We tend to rationalize our behavior, and practice self-justification. This is what Naaman did. After he went away from Elisha, he rationalized his anger by telling himself that he was worth more than what God had to offer him …a seven-fold baptism in the Jordan River.
He thought he was increasing his value by comparing himself to the prophet's hand waving gestures, and his own homeland. He really only cheapened himself. A person is so much more valuable than an impressive showing, or a clean river.
This is why pride is such a problem: it reduces persons to things and causes us not to love ourselves as God loves us - and God loves us much more than we will ever know. After all, He gave the life of His Son for us (John 3:16)! How much was the Son of God worth?
Telling ourselves that we are worth less than what God tells us we are worth is the worst kind of self-deceit. With a deceived heart we cannot properly love our brother if we don't love ourselves. Jesus said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:39). We can try, but we will not get very far before we become discouraged with ourselves and give up.
John wrote, “15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
Possibly the greatest hindrance to true repentance is pride because “the pride of life” (v. 16) prevents us from admitting that we have sinned. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
Pride frequently prevents man from doing what God desires. The psalmist wrote, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4). In other words, one’s pride and what other people think is more important than God's will.
Peter says, “6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
However, for some, even if they are willing to humble themselves and admit they were wrong, they often utter excuses at the same time. While not totally excusing the sin, they want others to think that if they were in the same situation, they would do the same thing.
The excuses are our prideful effort to justify our sin by blaming others who in some way (we think) caused us to do what we did. Don't let pride hinder you from doing what God demands.
Remember, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).
Trust God, who can and will provide the greatest aid. Paul wrote, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). There is always hope but let us not think that we can sin that grace may come (Romans 6:1).
Shared with you by Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. He is in control, so trust Him. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35).