Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 16:18-25 ESV).
The journey toward wisdom teaches us that pride never leads to good things. However, it’s altogether too easy to fall into pride. This is especially true as we age. Maybe you worked hard, defied the odds, and managed to excel in some area of life, it is natural to want to scream your accomplishment to every person everywhere. It may even be a well-earned or deserved recognition that you receive, our tendency is to bask in the glory of that recognition. We become proud of what WE did. The truth is that we didn’t do anything alone.
If we begin to think about how good we are, how good we did, how hard we worked, we often leave God out of the picture. We start to think that we did it all on our own, and as a result, we deserve all the attention. When we leave God out of the equation of our success, that’s never a good thing. We should always be looking to God, asking His advice, and seeking His approval, rather than the approval and attention of others. It’s God’s help we should want to live out each day of our lives. When we include Him in our success and look to Him to bring us the belonging and attention we crave, that’s when we will be the most fulfilled.
How can we guard our heart and mind against this trap? It begins with how we think of ourselves. Most of the time pride is the result of a comparison between us and others. We live in a world that prizes winning. The is nothing wrong with striving for excellence; and, excellence is often rewarded with the prize of victory. I am not advocating for participation trophies. We must strive to “win the race set before us” (cf. Hebrews 12). However, winning our race is wholly dependent on our reliance on the Lord. Pride will keep me from the real power. God doesn’t measure me against anyone else; He knows my heart and measures me by His will for me. Concentrate on that and you will be less tempted to fall from your pride.