Pride in Christian preaching is the dangerous overestimation of oneself that blinds believers to God's grace and the needs of others, often leading to downfall (Proverbs 16:18). Illustrations use images like mirrors obscured by silver, moth-eaten garments, and false measurements to depict how pride distorts true self-understanding and disrupts spiritual growth (James 4:6).
Self-focus blinds us to others, but humility opens our eyes to their needs.
One day a wealthy old miser visited a rabbi who took him by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said, pointing to the street. "What do you see?" "I see men and women and little children," answered the rich man. Again the rabbi took him by the hand and led him to the mirror and said, "What do you see now?" "Now I see myself," the rich man replied. Then the rabbi said, "Behold, in the window there is glass, but the glass of the mirror is covered with silver, and no sooner is the silver added then you fail to see others but see only yourself." If you see self and all the respect and honor others ought to give you, you are on dangerous ground. You won't be able to see others if self is in the image you hold in front of you.
Human pride seeks to be 'number one,' repeating Adam and Eve's original sin.
When personalized license plates were introduced in Illinois, the Department of Motor Vehicles received over 1,000 requests for the number "1". The state official whose job it was to approve requests said, "I am not about to assign it to someone and disappoint a thousand people." What was his solution? He assigned the number to himself.
A little boy and a little girl were riding a mechanical horse in a shopping mall. The little boy, who was riding in front, turned to the little girl and said, "If one of us would get off, there would be more room for me."
Nowhere is man's creativity more apparent than in his ability to discover new and original ways to commit the original sin. It all began in the Garden of Eden when the devil convinced Adam and Eve that he had found a way for them to move God over and become "Number 1." And the beat goes on-and we keep looking for ways to succeed where Adam and Eve failed. We look for ways to be first on everyone else's priority list. We look for ways to be first in line. We look for ways to be first at the checkout counter. We look for ways to be the first ones getting out of the parking lot. We look for ways to win in the game of "first come, first served." But these are mere symptoms of the real transgression. In the case of Christians, our creativity as original sinners is revealed most clearly when we look for ways to be known as disciples of Christ without following His example.
"We are Number 1! We are Number 1!" All well and good, perhaps, to hear the chant ringing out from football fans, but when we hear it ringing out from our hearts, it is all pride and imagination. Remember, therefore, "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts" (Luke 1:51).
Measuring ourselves by wrong standards leads to false pride and misunderstanding.
A little boy came running to his mother, shouting, "Mother, I am nine feet tall." His mother responded, "Don't talk such nonsense." "But," he said, "I really am nine feet tall. I measured myself." "Well, how did you measure yourself?" asked his mother. "I took off my shoe and measured myself with that. It is the same size as my foot, and I really am nine feet."
With a smile the mother replied, "Now I understand, my son, but I have to tell you that your measure was not the right one. We do not measure ourselves by the size of our own feet, but we must use a 12-inch ruler."
A lot of people are like the little boy. They are proud of something about which there is really no glory. Would You Hesitate to Ask?
I heard the other day about a roomful of doctors eating together. One doctor got up from the table, left the room, and in minutes he was dead. A morsel of food had lodged in his windpipe, and so he choked to death.
The tragedy of this incident is heightened by the fact that probably any one of those doctors could have performed the Heimlich Maneuver or, if need be, a tracheotomy to restore his breathing. But they did not know anything was wrong-he did not tell them. He just got up and left. And so he died.
Have you been keeping a problem to yourself that is about to get you down? Why not share it with at least one of your fellow Christians? Do not let false pride keep you from saying, "I need help." We all do. The Futility of Pride
"When pride cometh, then cometh shame: But with the lowly is wisdom" (Proverbs 11:2). "Only by pride cometh contentions" (Proverbs 13:10). In the book of Proverbs, pride is used in two senses. (1) The good sense. In this sense, it is admirable and necessary. It is associated with self-respect and personal dignity. However, we must always avoid self-contempt. "I am a nobody" is not a way to gain respect from others. Acts 2:47 shows us that it is alright to have respect from other people. This kind of pride is acceptable. (2) The bad sense is associated with arrogance, self-esteem, self-importance, and all such similar vices. Webster defines it this way: The quality or state of being proud: as inordinate self-esteem: conceit. Let us keep pride as God wants it. The chin and head up, not our nose. The pride of life is a channel by which Satan tempts man to sin (1 John 2:15-17).
In John 13 we find the disciples would not wash one another's feet because it would show they were inferior and forfeit their position in the kingdom. Christ deflated their egos and pride by washing their feet, showing that He was the greatest of all and serves all. We see a lot of people in the church today fighting for the top, but very few reach for towels. There are many today that pride destroys. It kept Felix from obeying the gospel (Acts 24:25). It also cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives. Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We must be willing to assume the role of beggar to enter the kingdom of heaven. Pride will cause us not to admit wrong or have compassion on our fellow man. It will cause us to live beyond our means (Romans 13:8). Pride leads to rebellion (Psalms 10:4); also apostasy (1 Timothy 3:6). "He who stands on a pedestal has no place but to step off"-a Chinese proverb. Who Is King of the Jungle-the Lion or the Elephant?
A big, mean lion met a monkey in the jungle. The lion pounced on the poor monkey and said, "Who is king of the jungle?" The frightened monkey replied, "You are, O mighty lion." So the lion let him go. The next animal the lion met was a zebra. He pounced on it and roared, "Who is king of the jungle?" "You are, O mighty lion." So the lion let him go. The lion next met an elephant and asked the same question. The elephant grabbed the lion, twirled him around the threw him 50 feet. The lion picked himself up and huffed, "Just because you don't know the answer is no reason to get so rough."
True significance is not about size or appearance but about real impact and humility.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a very small man. While in training, he was often chided about his stature. One young officer especially delighted in "pulling rank" on the "Little Corporal," as he was called by the other men of his company. Said the arrogant one, "I am a bigger man than you any day." "Not bigger," replied Napoleon, "just taller." History was to prove how right he was! A Sucker or a Worker?
One day a peasant drove his sturdy ox through the village on the way to work the fields.
A flea sat on the ox's nose. At the end of the day, the ox and peasant trudged back through the village, the fields now plowed, and the flea still perched on the ox's nose.
The peasant and the ox trudged by the villages in silence. The flea, however, bowed grandly to every side, proclaiming "We've been plowing."
God’s unchanging Word guides us away from prideful stubbornness to humble obedience.
A newly commissioned Navy captain took great pride in his first assignment to be in command of a battleship. One stormy night the captain saw a light moving steadily in their direction. He ordered the signalman to send the following message: "Change your course ten degrees to the south." The reply came back: "Change your course ten degrees to the north."
The captain was determined not to give way to another vessel, and so he sent a counter message. "Alter your direction ten degrees. I am the captain." The answer flashed back promptly: "Alter your direction. I am the lighthouse."
There are times when all of us have to identify with the captain; times when we allow self-will to set us off on a collision course.
"I have my rights," we say, determined to have our own way. But God, whose Word is like a lighthouse with a penetrating and unchangeable beacon, reveals a rocky shore ahead and finally we do as the captain surely did. We obey.
Our prayer for ourselves, and for the church should be as Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but Thine be done."
Claiming expertise without true knowledge reveals pride and the need for humility.
It is said that Billie Burke, the Hollywood actress, was enjoying a transatlantic ocean voyage when she noticed a man at the next table was suffering from a bad cold. "Uncomfortable?" she asked sympathetically. The man nodded. "I'll tell you what to do for it," she offered. "Go back to your stateroom and drink a lot of orange juice. Take five aspirin tablets. Cover yourself with all the blankets you can find. Sweat the cold out. I know what I'm talking about. I'm Billie Burke of Hollywood." The man smiled warmly and said, "Thanks. I'm Dr. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic!"
Pride leads to downfall and blinds people to their true spiritual condition.
The Emperor Justinian built the Church of St. Sophia, that gem of human architecture. He collected marble and treasures from all over the world to make it beautiful. At last the moment for dedication arrived. The words uttered by Justinian seemed full of humility as he said that all had been done for the glory of God. But as he allowed his eyes to drink in the beauty of the building, he could hardly contain himself. Someone heard him whisper, "Solomon, I have surpassed thee." That Isn't Sin
Paul is telling the Corinthians that he who adds to the Scriptures is likely to be a proud and arrogant person, one who looks down upon others because they lack his abilities. He is in the same class as the young girl who went to her priest and confessed her sin of vanity. "What makes you think that?" asked the priest. "Because every morning, when I look into the mirror," she replied, "I think how beautiful I am." "Don't worry" said the priest, "that isn't sin; that's just a mistake." How true it is that those who are the proudest in their assumption of the right to think and act above what is written are the most mistaken. They need to humbly accept what God says of them in His Word.
Self-sufficiency ignores God’s provision and blocks spiritual blessings from reaching the heart.
A young woman who won a coveted award smiled when her mother said, "I was praying you would get it." "Well, thank you," she replied, "but I earned this by my own hard work." Some people feel so sure of their self-sufficiency that they resent any implication that they owe God a word of thanks for the good things that come their way. Such an attitude could be justified only if a person were able to say, "I brought myself into the world, I endowed myself with all my talents and abilities, I raised myself, taught myself all I know, and control my present and future." A Bag Tied in the Middle
A New Zealand preacher described a Pharisee as being like a bag tied in the middle. Anything put into the top will not reach the bottom. The Pharisee opens his mouth wide when he prays, but his heart is tightly shut. With his lips he asks for things that his heart does not really desire. If God were to give him the spiritual blessings he asks for, it would only be a waste of good gifts, for they could not get to the bottom of the bag. His pride would choke them off, and they would never touch his heart.
Seeking attention in worship reveals pride rather than genuine humility before God.
Whether we want to recognize it or not, many of us are like the Christian who went to the village merchant to purchase a pair of shoes. He was outfitted with a suitable pair and went away happy. Some weeks later he brought the shoes back. "Didn't they fit? Weren't they good?" asked the merchant. "Yes." "Then why are you returning them?" "Because they don't have a squeak." It appeared the man wanted a pair of shoes that would squeak as he walked up the aisle of the church. He wanted something that would draw attention to himself. The Wise Philosopher
It only takes a fifty-cent piece held close to your eye to blind you to the sight of the sun. Alexander the Great, full of pride over his recent triumphs, once came upon that wise philosopher Diogenes who was basking in the glory of the noonday sun. The powerful Alexander condescended to speak to the philosopher, asking if there was anything he could do for Diogenes. "Yes," was the reply. "Alexander can step aside from between me and the sunshine." Diogenes was wise in this respect. Alexander was great in conquest, but he was a fool to think he was more important to Diogenes than the sun.
Spiritual pride is short-lived and shallow compared to enduring godly humility and growth.
Too many of us are like the gourd that wound itself around a lofty palm tree, and in a few weeks climbed to the very top. "How old are you?" asked the gourd. "About one hundred years," said the palm. "About one hundred years, and no taller! Look, I have grown as tall as you in fewer days than you count years." "I know that well," replied the palm. "Every summer of my life a gourd has climbed up around me as proud as you are, and as short-lived as you will be." The Proud Banker
A very richly dressed man stepped into a streetcar and with a haughty air sat down beside an old man who was poorly clad. When the conductor collected the fares he said to him in a loud voice, "Let me off at my bank." Evidently knowing him, the conductor assured him he would do so. Then he reached for the fare of the poorly clothed man next to him. He evidently was just as well known to the conductor as the banker, and so he said, "Please let me off at my peanut-stand, will you, Mister?" "Yes, George," was the distinct but kindly reply. The proud man didn't smile, but all the other passengers seemed suddenly possessed with unusual cheerfulness. This rich man had a right and a duty to dress in keeping with his station; he was not sinful because he owned a bank; but it was definitely wrong for him to seek to impress others with his importance. Instead he earned their ridicule.
Failing to acknowledge God’s work reveals pride and diminishes true appreciation for His blessings.
A householder left a patch of land completely unattended. On returning from a journey he found it full of stones, old bottles, and other rubbish. Though he had never attempted to garden before, he took a spade and began to dig up the ground and clear away the debris. Then he sowed a few seeds. With tremendous excitement he watched his garden patch. When at last he saw little shoots pushing up through the ground he was almost in ecstasy. Gradually the plants grew and at last the flowers appeared. To him it looked beautiful. One day his pastor stopped by. He couldn't get the pastor excited about his garden. Finally the pastor said, "Yes, it is wonderful what Almighty God does with a patch of ground like that." "Oh, it is," said the man, "but I wish you had seen this place when the Almighty had it all to Himself!" Unfortunately, the man failed to acknowledge that it was man's fault the patch of ground was such an eyesore in the first place. But it's true that God does not choose to make a garden without a gardener.The beauties of nature may occasionally surpass man's best efforts. A field of wild flowers in bloom shows the quality God has put into nature. But in most instances God commits the raw elements to man and lets him bring beauty, order, and usefulness out of them. The Showpiece
A woman came into a milliner's store and wanted to have the trimming on her new hat changed, saying it had been placed on the wrong side. "But," said the saleslady, "the trimming is on the left side. That is where it ought to be." "It doesn't make any difference where it ought to be; it's got to be on the church side." "Church side!" gasped the astonished girl. "Yes, I sit next to the wall. I want it on the other side so the whole congregation can see it."
Praise of self leads to harsh criticism of others and spiritual pride.
If we stopped to listen to God's and others' opinions of us, it would have a sobering effect, and we would surely be less critical of others. We would not be like Rabbi Simeon who said, "The world is not worth thirty righteous persons such as our father Abraham. If there were only twenty righteous persons in the world, I and my son should be of the number. If there were only ten, I and my son should be of them, if there were only five, I and my son should be of the five. If there were but two, I and my son would be those two, and if there were but one, myself should be that one." Praise of self results in criticism of others. The Superior Dress
All of us readily admit that Christianity advocates justice, equality, and opportunity for all. When it comes to practicing it, do we really mean what we preach, or are we like the little Sunday school girl who was observed by her teacher trying to move as far away as possible from the little girl next to her? They were both poor children, neatly but plainly dressed. The teacher said, "What is the matter? Why don't you sit still?" "Oh," she replied, "I have a silk dress, and she has a cotton one, and I don't want her to sit by me."
Self-righteousness hides deeper layers of pride and self-centeredness within us.
"Man is like an onion," said A. T. Pierson, "layer after layer, and each a layer of self in some form. Strip off self-righteousness and you will come to self-trust. Get beneath this and you will come to self-seeking and self-pleasing. Even when we think these are abandoned, self-will betrays its presence. When this is stripped off, we come to self-defense, just as the Corinthians did-the word of the puffed up-and last of all, self-glory. When this seems to be abandoned, the heart of the human onion discloses pride that boasts of being truly humble."
Measuring ourselves by earthly standards leads to pride and self-deception.
Pride comes from the fact that we measure ourselves by earthly standards, instead of by God's standard for us. We are like the little boy who came to his mother and said, "Mamma, I am as tall as Goliath; I am nine feet high." "What makes you say that?" asked the surprised mother. "Well, I made a little ruler of my own and measured myself with it, and I am just nine feet high!"
Exclusiveness and selfishness in faith hinder God's blessing and true repentance.
There was a small Christian sect of an exclusive nature which was holding a convention. Outside the auditorium there was displayed the motto, "Jesus Only." A strong wind blew the first three letters away, so that the sign read, "Us Only." Isn't that too often the sign that our prayers, attitudes, and behavior present to the world? And then we expect God to bless us. No Repentance, No Pardon
Caleb Young, in Kentucky, thought that a man in the state's prison who was serving a life term had been too heavily sentenced. Bringing influence to bear upon the governor, he obtained a pardon for the man. He went to the prison and had a talk with the man. He said to him, "If you were to be released from this place, what would you do?" The man vindictively replied, "I would go and shoot the judge that sentenced me, the lawyer that prosecuted me, and the witnesses that testified against me." Mr. Young said nothing to the man about the pardon. He went out of the prison and tore the pardon to pieces.
Vain glory leads to downfall, like a frog boasting and losing its grip.
Two geese about to start southward on their annual autumn migration were entreated by a frog to take him with them. When the geese expressed their willingness to do so, if a means of conveyance could be devised, the frog produced a long stick and got the two geese to take it at each end while he clung to it by his mouth in the middle. In this manner the three were making their journey successfully when they were noticed from below by some men who loudly expressed their admiration of the device and wondered who had been clever enough to discover it. The vainglorious frog, opening his mouth to say, "It was I," lost his hold, fell to the earth, and was dashed to pieces. Beware, Christians, lest you meet with the same calamity as that of the frog through your vain-glorying in self.
Boasting of spiritual health while condemning others is detestable to God.
We should not let the sickness of other Christians lead us to brag that we are well because we are sinless while other Christians are sick because they are sinners. The proud heart is detestable to God. Perhaps we need to pray the well-known prayer of an early Wesleyan preacher: "Lord, save me from that good man-myself." It must be awful in the sight of God to see His children boasting of their health while condemning others because they are sick.
Icarus' prideful flight leads to his downfall and death.
Dædalus was a skilful artificer, who built the famous labyrinth for King Minos of Crete, but afterwards fell under his displeasure, and was not allowed to leave the island. He then designed and formed wings of wax and feathers, for himself and his son Icarus, that, if they could not escape by sea, they would defy the king by flying through the air. He equipped himself and then his son for flight, giving him the following directions: "Icarus, my son, I charge you to keep at a moderate height; for if you fly too low, the damp will clog your wings; and if too high, the heat will melt them. Keep near me, and you will be safe." They rose, and flew through the air, and the ploughmen beneath mistook them for gods. At length the boy Icarus grew confident and exultant, and, leaving his father's care, soared upward. The sun's blaze softened the wax that held the feathers of his wings in place, and they fell out. His arms moved, but would not sustain him; and down, down he fell, and was drowned in the sea beneath.
Mad ambition and pride lead to foolishness and ruin.
I have read of Menecrates, a physician, that would needs be counted a god, and took no other fee of his patients but their vow to worship him. Dionysius Syracusanus, hearing of this, invited him to a banquet; and, to honor him according to his desire, set before him nothing but a censer of frankincense, with the smoke whereof he was feasted till he starved, while others fed on good meat. This showed the great naturalist a natural fool, a madman. Sapor, a Persian king, wrote himself "King of kings, Brother to the Sun and Moon, and Partner with the Stars." Yet, alas! he was a man, therefore a madman in the arrogation of his style. T. Adams.
Phaëton's reckless ambition to drive the sun chariot leads to disaster.
Mythology represents Phaëton as the son of Apollo. One day he went home enraged because a schoolfellow laughed at the idea of his being the son of a god. He reported it to his mother, and she appealed to the Sun to acknowledge him in that relation. Clymene directed Phaëton to go to the palace of Apollo, and demand whether he would own him as a son. With delight he made the journey, and in astonishment gazed upon the golden columns, ivory ceilings, and silver doors in the palace of the Sun. He approached the throne on which sat his reputed father. The Sun beheld the dazzled youth, and inquired his errand. He replied, "O Phaebus, my father! give me some proof by which I may be known as yours." His father said, "I confirm your mother's words. Ask what you will, the gift shall be yours." Phaëton, elated, asked to be allowed to drive the chariot of the Sun for a single day. The father repented his rash promise, and said, "I beg you to withdraw this request. It is not a safe boon, nor one suited to your age and strength, my Phaëton. In your ignorance, you aspire to do that which not even the gods themselves may do. None but myself may drive the flaming ear of day, — not even Jupiter, whose right arm hurls the thunderbolts. The first part of the way is steep, and such as the horses when fresh in the morning can hardly climb; the middle is high up in the heavens, whence I myself can scarcely, without alarm, look down, and behold the earth and sea stretched out beneath me; the last part of the road descends rapidly, and requires most careful driving. The heaven is all the time revolving, and carrying the stars with it. The road is beset with frightful monsters. The horses, breathing fire from their nostrils, are not easily governed. Beware, my son, lest I be the donor of a fatal gift. Let my fears for you prove your sonship. It is not honor, but destruction, you seek. Ask any thing else, and fear no refusal; but, I beg you, choose more wisely." The admonition was vainly given, as usual with reckless youth. Phaëton persisted, and was led by Phaëbus to the lofty chariot, which blamed with gold, silver, and precious stones. The Hours harnessed up the steeds. The father prepared the son for his perilous service, and gave him directions to follow the marks of the wheels through the middle zone. The youth seized the reins with delight, stood up in the chariot, and drove the snorting horses furiously forth. The steeds, conscious of a lighter load than usual, dashed on, tossing the chariot as a ship at sea, and rushed headlong from the travelled road. The Great and Little Bear were scorched, and the serpent that coils around the north-pole was warmed to life. Appalled with fear, Phaëton lost self-control, and looked repentant to the goal which he could never reach. The unrestrained steeds whirled off among the stars, and, anon nearing the earth, ignited cities, forests, harvests, mountains. The air became hot and lurid. The waters dried up. The earth appealed to Jupiter for redress. He thundered, and launched a lightning-bolt against the reckless charioteer, striking him from his seat and from existence. The Naiads reared him a tomb, and inscribed his epitaph:
"Driver of Phaëbus' chariot, Phaëton,
Struck by Jove's thunder, rests beneath this stone.
He could not rule his father's car of fire;
Yet was it much so nobly to aspire."
Pride leads to downfall, illustrated by Arachne's challenge to the goddess Minerva.
Minerva was the Goddess of Wisdom, and presided over the arts. Arachne, a mortal maiden of renowned skill in weaving and embroidery, whose fingers made the wool into rolls, twisted it into threads, and wrought it into divers patterns, challenged the goddess to a trial of competition. Minerva, in the guise of an old woman, dissuaded her in vain. She then threw off her disguise, and the trial began. Each spread out the warp, hurled the shuttle, and struck the woof into its place. Minerva wrought in her web a scene representing the glory of the gods. Arachne, presumptuous, in hers pictured the errors and failings of the gods. The goddess admired the maiden's work, but, stung by the insult, struck it from the loom, and changed the aspiring girl into a spider, to go on spinning and hanging herself forever. Now science has wrested the thunderbolt from Jove, the trident from Neptune, and the distaff from Minerva.
Those who boast and lift themselves above others reveal foolishness and lack true wisdom.
"Mother, mother!" cried a young rook, returning hurriedly from its flight, "I'm so frightened! I've seen such a sight!" — "What sight, my son?" asked the rook. "Oh, white creatures! screaming and rouning, and straining their necks, and holding their heads ever so high! See, mother, there they go!" — "Geese, my son, merely geese," calmly replied the parent-bird, looking over the common. "Through life, child, observe that when you meet any one who makes a great fuss about himself, and tries to lift his head higher than the rest of the world, you may set him down at once for a goose." Children's Friend.
Boasting is dangerous because sudden change can expose one's vulnerability and downfall.
In a well-known town, a slater had to mount the tall spire of a church, and repair some injury done by the wind. Having reached the top, he stood upright upon the ball, holding in his hand a jug of wine, and, filling a glass, drank to the health of the dignitaries of the place. The people stood below, wondering at his boldness and danger, in which he seemed to glory. But they forgot that the next moment might hurl him from that eminence; and then how changed would be his fate! Thus it is with "vain boasters:" they are in equal danger.
— Bowes
True greatness is shown by humble work, not by self-promotion or vanity.
Lord Bacon told Sir Edward Cooke, when he boasted, "The less you speak of your greatness, the more I shall think of it." Mirrors are the accompaniments of dandies, not heroes. The men of history were not perpetually looking in the glass to make sure of their own size. Absorbed in their work, they did it, and did it so well, that the wondering world saw them to be great, and labelled them accordingly. S. Coley.
Confidence in worldly security is vain and can lead to unexpected ruin.
Many years ago, Judge B. resided in New Jersey. His family was considered the most aristocratic in the town; and, not unfrequently, some of its members would give their acquaintances to understand that this was their opinion also. On a certain occasion, a fishing-party was made up among the ladies. Mrs. Judge B. was among the number. While fishing, the subject of losing property was discussed. Mrs. B. paused a little, and slipped a splendid gold ring from her finger, and dropped it into the lake, remarking, as she did so, that it was "as impossible for them to become poor as it was for her to recover that ring." The party returned to their homes, and Mrs. B. gave her fish to the servants. Not long after, the cook came into the sitting-room, and showed to Mrs. B. a gold ring, which she had taken from one of the fish. The ring dropped into the lake was recovered. Mrs. B., who was so confident that she could never become poor, died a pauper in Elizabethtown, N.J.; and her husband, the judge, died a pauper also, in an adjoining town. Christian Secretary.
Prideful boasting leads to sudden downfall and divine judgment.
A favorite of Ptolemy, King of Egypt, had risen to so high a degree of honor, that he used to say he had but two discontentments in this life: the first was, that he could grow no greater, so great was he already become; and the second, that the king, with all his revenues, seemed to him too poor to add any sensible increase to his. Not many days after this, the upstart was detected by Ptolemy in a treacherous intrigue, condemned to be hung before his own door, and all his effects confiscated. Percy.
Self-conceit is fragile and leads to downfall when tested by adversity.
The vainglorious man looks upon himself through a false glass, which makes every thing seem fairer and greater than it is; and this flatulous humor fillet the empty bladder of his vast thoughts with so much wind of pride, that he presumes that Fortune, who hath once been his good mistress, should ever be his handmaid. But let him know that the wings of self-conceit, wherewith he towereth so high, are but patched and pieced up of borrowed feathers, and that, too, in the soft wax of uncertain hope, which, in the encounter of very small heat of danger, will melt, and fail him at his greatest need; for Fortune deals with him as the eagle with the tortoise,—she carries him the higher, that she may break him the easier. It would, therefore, be good advice, that, in the midst of his prosperity, he should think of the world's instability, and that Fortune is constant in nothing but inconstancy. Spencer.
Garments should remind us to renounce pride and ambition like a scar of sin.
As a thief, by law burned in the forehead for theft, ought, so often as he looked in a glass and perceived the scar thereof, to think upon and detest his inclination to that vice; so our garments, being as the scar in the forehead of our first parents and ourselves for their ambition, in that they sought to be like unto God, should, by the sight of them only, put us in mind to renounce all pride and ambition. Cawdray.
Pride in outward beauty ignores that it ultimately covers death like a shroud.
The brightest silk the silkworm weaves, it designs to be its shroud. When it has attained its duration, and lived its time, it looks out for some corner where it may die unseen; and there it envelops itself with the beautiful web, which we prize so highly, as its shroud. Oh that those who flaunt in their gayety would remember that they are wearing a shroud, and that the object of their pride was first used as the robe to cover death! Bowes.
Excessive self-focus leads to downfall and embarrassment.
A man is said to have been drowned by making a bridge of his own shadow; and, again, it is said that a company of thoughtless fellows mistook their shadows for a bridge, and all fell into the river.
1850 EGOTISM, Embarrassment of. I recollect, that, when Mr. — wrote his own life, the pronoun "I" occurred so often in it, that the printer was obliged to borrow I's from his brother printers, as his I's had run out.
— Dr. A. Clarke
Egotism distorts speech and relationships through selfish self-centeredness.
The etymology of an egotist may be rendered thus: One of those gluttonous parts of speech, that gulp down every substantive in the social grammar into its personal pronoun, condensing all the tenses, moods, and voices of other people's verbs into a first person singular of its own. Example: "I myself saw it with my own eyes, and nobody else but me, I say!" "I was to dine with the admiral," said such a one to a brother officer as they met in the street; "but I've so many cards for to-night, I can't go." — "I received the same invitation," said his friend; "and I'll apologize for you." — "Don't trouble yourself; pray don't!" — "I must if you don't come; for the admiral's invitation, you know, is like royalty's, — a command." — "Don't mention my name." — "I certainly must," said his friend as they shook hands to separate. — "I say," at length stammered out the hero of a hundred cards, "don't say a word about me: I — I had a hint to stay away." — "A hint! how so?" — "I wasn't invited." — "No!" said his friend, "not invited! Well, I said I had received the same invitation, for neither was I; but I wanted to see how it lay between us."
— J. B. Owen
True wisdom is shown by progress, not just knowledge or position.
"How wise I am!" cried the Finger-Post to a Willow-Stump by his side. "Are you?" said the Willow. "Am I?" indignantly retorted the Post. "Do you see my arms? Are not the name to the great town, the road to it, and the distance from it, plainly written there?" — "Ah, yes!" said the Willow. "Then you must acknowledge how superior I am to you. Why! I am a public teacher." — "True, indeed," answered the Willow, "and learned you are; but, as to wisdom, I see little difference between you and me. You know the way to the city, I believe, and are the means of enabling many to find it; but here you have stood these twenty years, and I don't see that you have got a step farther on the road than I have, who don't profess to understand any thing about it."
— Original Fables
Egotists focus conversation on themselves, unlike modest people who avoid self-praise.
An egotist will always speak of himself, either in praise or in censure; but a modest man shuns making himself the subject of his conversation.
— La Bruyère
Envy is a destructive poison rooted in pride that harms the soul and relationships.
Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of murder and revenge, the beginner of secret sedition, the perpetual tormentor of virtue. Envy is the filthy slime of the soul; a venom, a poison, a quicksilver, which consumeth the flesh, and drieth up the marrow of the bones. Socrates.
Envy often arises from failing to appreciate the difficulty behind others' achievements.
Columbus, after his discovery of America, was persecuted by the envy of the Spanish courtiers for the honors which were heaped upon him by the sovereign; and once at a table, when all decorum was banished in the heat of wine, they murmured loudly at the caresses he received, having, as they said, with mere animal resolution pushed his voyage a few leagues beyond what any one had chanced to have done before. Columbus heard them with great patience, and, taking an egg from the dish, proposed that they should exhibit their ingenuity by making it stand on an end. It went all around; but no one succeeded. "Give it me, gentlemen," said Columbus; who then took it, and, breaking it at one of the ends, it stood at once.
They all cried out, "Why! I could have done that."—"Yes, if the thought had struck you," replied Columbus; and, if the thought had struck you, you might have discovered America." Percy.
Pride blinds people to true authority and proper respect for others.
The celebrated Dr. Busby kept on his hat when visited by King Charles II, and apologized for his apparent want of respect by saying that he should never be able to keep his scholars in subjection if they thought that there was a greater man in the world than himself. The same feeling seems to have actuated the Gaelic chiefs, who were excessively proud of their rank and prerogatives. When the first Marquess of Huntley, then the chief of the clan Gordon, was presented at the court of James VI, he did not so much as incline his head before his sovereign. Being asked why he failed in this point of etiquette, he replied, that he had no intention whatever of showing any disrespect to his king, but that he came from a country where all the world were accustomed to bow down before him. A similar instance occurred with the head of another family. When George II. offered a patent of nobility to the chief of the Grants, the proud Celt refused it, saying, "Who would then be Laird of Grant?"
— Percy
Some vainly overestimate their importance in what others accomplish.
It was prettily devised of Æsop: the fly sat upon the axletree of the chariot-wheel, and said, "What a dust do I raise!" So are there some vain persons, that whatsoever goeth alone, or moveth upon greater means, if they have never so little hand in it, they think it is they that carry it.
— Lord Bacon
Pride accepts even false worship and deification for power or riches.
FLATTERY, Satisfaction of As there is no character so deformed as to fright away from it the prostitutes of praise, so there is no degree of encomiastic veneration which pride has refused. The emperors of Rome suffered themselves to be worshipped, in their lives, with altars and sacrifice; and, in an age more enlightened, terms peculiar to the Supreme Being have been applied to wretches whom it was the reproach of humanity to number among men, and whom nothing but riches or power hindered those that wrote or read their deification from hunting into the toils of justice as disturbers of the peace. Johnson.
King Alfonsus foolishly thinks he could advise God on creation.
Alfonsus, King of Castile, used to employ his leisure-hours in the study of astronomy. Having discovered what he supposed to be an irregularity, he said, "If I had been by when the Maker of the world was at work, I could have given him some good advice."
Human pride can ignore God's role in our growth and success.
It is said of Hadrian VI., that, having built a stately college at Lovain, he set this inscription on the front in golden letters, Trajectum plantavit, Lovanium rigavit; sed Cæsar dedit incrementum: "Utrocht planted me" (for there he was born), "Lovain watered me" (for there he was bred); "but Cæsar gave the increase," who from the ferula brought him to the crosier, — of a schoolmaster, made him Pope of Rome. A witty passenger, reproving his folly, underwrote, "Here was no room for God to do any thing." Spencer.
Pursuit of honor and pride leads to death, but true honor comes from a higher King.
Gen. Neil's life-long dream had been to obtain the little baton and ribbon of Marshal of France. He could not sleep after seeing it conferred on McMahon as a reward of valor in the battle of Magenta. Before the next engagement, he told his friends, that, this time, he would win the prize he so much coveted. The conflict was over; and they sought him anxiously upon the glory field. They found him almost crushed beneath his war-borne; and the practiced eye of the surgeon told him that life would soon be over. Word was sent to the emperor, who quickly arrived, and, taking from his own breast the badge of Marshal of France, he placed it above the heart of his faithful follower. The life-long dream was realized, and with a single throb of exultant joy and gratitude, he threw his arms about the neck of his sovereign: the next instant he fell back in the embrace of a stronger king. Dr. Hares
Ambition is likened to the serpent's pride, born from dust yet craving high honors.
The serpent, though creeping in the dust, hath, a lofty spirit, reaching not only to men, but even at the birds of the air. And here is the ambitious man's emblem. He was bred out of the dust; yet he cateheth at lordships and honors, ransacks the city, forages the country, scours it through the Church: but his errand is to the court. He is the maggot of pride, begot out of corruption; and looks in an office as the ape did when he had got on the robes of a senator. T. Adams.
Xerxes' futile attempt to control the sea shows human pride and folly against nature.
When the force of the current had carried away the temporary bridge which Xerxes had caused to be thrown over the Hellespont, on his grand expedition into Greece, he was so enraged, that he not only ordered the heads of the workmen to be struck off, but, like a madman, inflicted lashes upon the sea, to punish it for its insolence: he, moreover, affected to hold it in future under his control by throwing fetters into it.
Pride, ill nature, and lack of sense cause ill manners, not mere experience or worldliness.
Pride, ill nature, and want of sense, are the three great sources of ill manners: without some one of these defects, no man will behave himself ill for want of experience, or what, in the language of fools, is called knowing the world. Swift
Presumption is foolish pride that backfires like dust thrown against the wind, blinding the presumptuous.
Presumption is a fire-work made up of pride and fool-hardiness. It is indeed like a heavy house built upon slender crutches. Like dust, which men throw against the wind, it flies back in their face, and makes them blind. Wise men presume nothing, but hope the best: presumption is hope out of her wits. T. Adams.
Pretending to be more than you are reveals weakness and causes trouble.
He who gives himself airs of importance exhibits the credentials of impotence. — Lavater. — The desire of our appearing clever often prevents our becoming so. — La Rochefoucauld. — It is no disgrace not to be able to do every thing;
but to undertake, or pretend to do, what you are not made for, is not only shameful, but extremely troublesome and vexatious. — Plutarch.
Pride often ignores true sources of success and feeds vain self-exaltation.
Philip, having made himself master of Potidæa, received three messengers in one day: the first brought him an account of a great victory gained over the
Illyrians by his general, Parmenio; the second told him he was proclaimed victor at the
Olympic Games; and the third informed him of the birth of Alexander. But there was nothing in all these events that ought to have fed the vanity, or that would have justified the pride of Philip; since, as an elegant writer remarks, "for the first, he was indebted to his general; for the second to his horse; and his wife is shrewdly suspected of having helped him to the third." Colton.
Pride corrupts gifts and must be laid aside for God's mercy to reign.
Great gifts are beautiful as Rachel; but pride makes them also barren like her. Either we must lay self aside, or God will lay us aside. — Gurnail. — God crowns with mercy; but a swollen head is not fit to have that crown put upon it. — Jenkyn. — Satan is subtle: he will make a man proud that he is not proud. — Brooks.
Remembering our weakness and sinfulness is the best remedy against pride.
Remember what thou wert before thy birth, — nothing; what thou wert for many years after, — weakness; what in all thy life, — a great sinner; what in all thy excellences, — a mere debtor to God, to thy parents, to the earth, to all the creatures. Upon these or the like meditations, if we dwell, and frequently retire to them, we shall see nothing more reasonable than to be humble, and nothing more foolish than to be proud. Bp. Taylor.
Pride causes downfall and exile from favor, kingdom, paradise, or heaven.
It thrust proud Nebuchadnezzar out of men's society, proud Saul out of his kingdom, proud Adam out of paradise, proud Haman out of court, proud Lucifer out of heaven. Henry Smith.
