PRIDE-RESULTS
It horribly
skews the meaning of the cross when contemporary prophets of self-esteem say
that the cross is a witness to my infinite worth… The biblical perspective is
that the cross in a witness to the infinite worth of God's glory, and a witness
to the immensity of the sin of my pride.
John Piper
Boasting is
the outward form of the inner condition of pride.
John Piper
Justification by Faith is the End of Boasting,
May, 30, 1999, Sermon. Used by
Permission, www.DesiringGod.org.
And what else
is the cause of all transgression, but that man’s ignorant pride will have his
will preferred to the will of God.
William
Cowper
Proud people
focus on the failures of others and can readily point out those faults. Broken
people are more conscious of their own spiritual need than of anyone else’s.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Brokenness, The Heart God Revives, Moody
Publishers, 2002, p. 88.
Proud people
have a feeling – conscious or subconscious – that “this ministry is privileged
to have me and my gifts.” They focus on what they can do for God. Broken people
have a heart attitude that says, “I don’t deserve to have any part in this
ministry”; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of
Jesus flowing through their broken lives.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Brokenness, The Heart God Revives, Moody
Publishers, 2002, p. 91.
Pride
manifests itself in so many subtle, but lethal ways… In a hidden desire for the
praise and admiration of men, an insistence on being “right,” the desire to be
noticed and appreciated, fear of rejection, or just pre-occupation with myself
my feelings, my needs, my circumstances, my burdens, my desires, my successes,
my failures. These are all fruits of that deadly root of pride.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Nothing Between, Revival Commentary,
v. 2, n. 2.
Some people
get so caught up in their own holiness that they look at the Trinity for a
possible vacancy.
John MacArthur
Leadership, v. 7, n. 2.
The world’s
smallest package is a man wrapped up in himself.
Charles Swindoll
Let
us watch against pride in every shape – pride of intellect, pride of wealth,
pride in our own goodness, pride in our own deserts.
Nothing is so likely to keep a man out of heaven, and prevent him seeing
Christ, as pride. So long as we think we are something, we shall never be
saved.
J.C. Ryle
Matthew Commentary, Chapter 11.
Those who
think too much of themselves don’t think enough.
Amy Carmichael
A person may
be full of talk about his own [religious] experiences. But often it is more a
bad than a good sign. It is like a tree that is full of leaves that seldom
bears much fruit. Or it is like a cloud which, although it appears to promise
much fullness of rain, is only wind to a dry and thirsty earth… Strong, false
affections are much more likely to declare themselves than true ones. It is the
nature of false religion to be showy and visible as it was with the Pharisees.
Jonathan Edwards
Religious Affections.
There is a
false boldness for Christ that only comes from pride. A man may rashly expose
himself to the world's dislike and even deliberately provoke its displeasure,
and yet do so out of pride… True boldness for Christ transcends all; it is
indifferent to the displeasure of either friends or foes. Boldness enables
Christians to forsake all rather than Christ, and to prefer to offend all
rather than to offend Him.
Jonathan Edwards
Religious Affections.
It
is man’s most monumental effrontery to imagine that a selfish, petty collection
of unworthy desires such as himself belongs in the center, even of his own
life. The insidious nature of pride is such that men and women rarely
appreciate how proud they are, and the index of pride’s power over the heart is
that even the purest motions of the Christian soul are deeply affected by it.
Robert S. Rayburn
Pride
and Humility, Tabletalk, May 2008, p. 64, Used by Permission.
I make
myself, in a host of ways, the center of the universe.
William Temple
You can have no greater sign of confirmed pride than when
you think you are humble enough.
A proud faith
is as much a contradiction as a humble devil.
Stephen Charnock
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 223.
It
was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other
vice: it is the completely anti-God state of mind.
C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity.
The following are
a smattering of examples of the “fig leaves” we wear:
1. We change the subject or crack jokes if an awkward or
threatening subject arises.
2. We monopolize conversation, filling silences to keep
others at bay and to keep from feeling like failures.
3. We live or die vicariously with a sports team.
4. We run from problems by watching TV, drinking, smoking,
promiscuity, workaholism, compulsive eating.
5. We mock or “put in a box” those whose opinions or
problems threaten our own commitments and behavior.
6. We get defensive, accusatory, testy, or talk loudly, or
try to bully others to defend ourselves and make a show of competency.
7. We overdo penance by saying, “Poor me; I’m so horrible
and such a failure,” by expressing maudlin repentance and wallowing in
failures.
8. We minimize the seriousness of problems – “It’s nothing”
– or the difficulty of change – “I promise “l’ll
never do it again.”
9. We lie outright, to look good or to avoid looking bad.
10. We lie subtly, putting ourselves in the best light by
innuendo, embellishment, or careful selection of data. This often accompanies
subtle expressions of contempt or criticism for other people.
11. We think highly of our own opinions on every issue.
12. We tie up our identity in certain grandiose roles, like
“counselor” or “parent” or “pastor.” Any of our functions and successes, real
or imagined, can become fodder for self-deception.
13. We pray for help before performing a certain
responsibility, and then rehearse our own success afterwards without thought of
God.
David Powlison
Seeing With New Eyes, P&R Publishers,
2003, p. 189-190.