King Solomon wrote, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). The Greek word used here for “pride” can be translated as either pride, haughtiness, or arrogance. Pride, taken in the context of this proverb, means to have too high an opinion of oneself or one’s abilities. Haughty means behaving in a condescending manner towards other people, considering yourself above them.
Pride can blind an individual to the reality of his or her true nature. The prophet Jeremiah wrote:”The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9), and a Jewish proverb states: “Pride is the mask of one’s own faults.” A proud heart is offensive to God (Proverbs 16:5) because it prevents an individual from acknowledging God’s supremacy and authority, and inflates one’s ego just as yeast and leaven puffs up bread dough (1 Corinthians 5:6).
The Bible reveals that long before God created Adam and Eve, pride was the catalyst for Lucifer’s rebellion. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God first addresses the prince of Tyre, a human being puffed up with pride, but then switches to address Satan, who was influencing the human prince of Tyre and is the instigator of pride: “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty’” (Ezekiel 28:12). This description cannot refer to a man because, with the exception of Jesus Christ, no man is or has ever been perfect. This is a cherub, a created being, who was in heaven and was perfect until iniquity (sin) was found in him (verses 14-15). The reason this mighty cherub became so sinful was that he had grown so proud of his wisdom, beauty and splendor, that he believed he was greater than he really was (verse 17).
In Isaiah chapter 14 there is a parallel account where a lament over the king of Babylon morphs into a lament over this same being: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’” (Isaiah 14:12-14).
Lucifer means “light-bringer” and Jesus Christ identified this being who was cast down from heaven to earth when He declared, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). It appears Lucifer wanted to be equal to or greater than God and thought he could do a better job of ruling the universe. Pride promotes the self and selfish desires with delusions of self-importance becoming the center of one’s thinking, leading to looking down on others as inferior, as it did with Lucifer.
The Apostle Paul explained that the human leader at the end of this age of man would be influenced by Satan and think himself greater than God: “Let no one deceive you…for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God…so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Scripture tells us that this end-time manifestation of a modern babylonian type empire will be defeated and that Christ will reign on earth with Satan also being defeated (Revelation 20:1-3 and 7-10).
The Bible gives us instruction as to how we should approach our struggle to resist Satan and his pride-filled attitudes: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself ” (Philippians 2:3). Learning to have this kind of humility, maintaining a balanced and honest view of ourselves and valuing others is a good way to avoid the pitfalls of pride.
Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). To be “poor in spirit” means to be humble, acknowledging our sins and selfishness before God and recognising that we need His mercy. In Isaiah 66:1-2, God declares:I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My word” (New Living Translation). Recognizing our dependence on the living God for both our present physical existence and our hope of eternal existence after death is a mindset we need to combat pride.
