The Sin of Pride

In Proverbs 14.3 we read, In the mouth of the foolish is a ride of pride. And in Proverbs 29.23 it states, A man's pride shall bring him low. And in Proverbs 27.2 we read, Let another man praise thee, And not thine own mouth, A stranger, and not thine own lips.

Well that knocks out about 80% of all evangelists. How many men like to boast about the numbers that came forward in a meeting? But pride is a killing evil, friend. Pride is a blinding condition.

Those that are proud are completely ignorant of their self-love and boasting and bragging about what they have and what they've done. Little do they realize how unsuitable they are for company, that when you are with them, all they want to talk about are their three favorite people, me, myself, and I. Self-love is a killing sin, for it kills all human relationships around it. Self-love is a great social ill that spreads through society like a dreadful plague, contaminating all it encounters.

Pride and self-love will kill a revival quicker than anything else. Listen to the wise words of Dr. Ted Randall from his book, Fire in the Church. God is looking for a man who will throw himself entirely on God whenever self-effort, self-seeking, or self-promotion enters into the work of revival.

Then God leaves us to ourselves. His words are true, friends. We get a little excitement in a meeting, and we can't wait to email everybody we know to tell them how God is blessing our meetings.

I see such comments by evangelists like, The tears were flowing and the altar was full. I like what Vance Havner said about the deacon praying before a church revival meeting. He said, Oh, Heavenly Father, what a time we had last night.

Folks were getting saved right and left. Lord, you should have been here. It's true, friends.

We love to go on and on about ourselves and tell folks how much God is using us. It's a wonder we don't break our wrists, patting ourselves on the back. But the most eminent men I have known, when you were with them, they never mentioned themselves, but they sure talked a lot about Jesus.

F.B. Meyer said of D.L. Moody, He could hold the attention of 10,000 hearers at a time, for a month at a time, in great metropolises of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London. Yet, to be with him in the ordinary course of a day, he was the most humble man you'd ever meet. This man was completely oblivious to his fame.

I listened to a church member address a group of men, and he bragged about how he wrote out a check to his church for $500,000, and in three months' time, God blessed him by giving him a million. But everyone in that meeting afterwards privately ridiculed that man for being such a windbag and a braggart. A man's pride shall bring him low, Proverbs declares.

It will bring a man low in the eyes of others. And pride is also costly, friends. King David wanted to number his people so he could feel better about himself, and it sent a great judgment upon them.

In 1 Chronicles 21.1 we read, And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. Now, friends, look at how God brought a judgment upon them for their pride. And God was displeased with this thing, therefore he smote Israel.

So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel, and there fell of Israel 70,000 men. Why, if God let judgment like that fall today on numbering our church members, it'd wipe out half the Southern Baptists. But the main reason why the sin of pride is so deadly is because Satan is full of pride.

In Isaiah, we see how he wanted to be like God, I will ascend. And when we are prideful, we are trying to ascend upward ourselves and rob God of his glory. Yes, friends, before God sends us revival, we must turn to him in repentance and confess our pride.

Let us pray.