The Pastor's Page - 7/28/09
The Problem of Pride
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 1ST Timothy 3:1-6 (NKJV).
In this passage of Scripture Paul is giving Timothy instructions on the character needed to lead the people of God. His emphasis in verse 6 is that the leader should not be a new convert because his personal zeal could become an instrument in the hands of the devil to bring in an attitude of pride. It is good and authoritative advice. Yet we must be careful not to think that only the young inexperienced leaders are susceptible to pride. The older more seasoned leaders have often been guilty of the same, and sadly the consequences Paul warns against have come to pass. Pride is such an insidious foe that all God’s people, especially leaders, must guard against its controlling influence. These little musings are never meant to be exhaustive but here are four thoughts that can help us win the battle against pride.
1. RECOGNIZE MY PERSONAL POTENTIAL
Just before that wonderfully comforting passage of God’s promised escape in time of trials in 1ST Corinthians 10:13, Paul issues this warning in verse 12. “ Therefore let him who thinks he stands take
heed lest he fall.” The idea that this could never happen to me
probably lies at the heart of more failure than we can know. Gordon MacDonald relates just such a personal story in his writings. About six months after writing that he had no personal problem with lust he fell into an affair with another woman. Such is the blinding power of pride.
2. REFRAIN FROM PRIDEFUL SELF REFERENCES
The Bible warns us in Proverbs that “Pride goes before destruction, And a
haughty spirit before a fall.” ( Proverbs 16:18 NKJV) This pride can
often be found in the kind of self talk we use. One Pastor’s house burned downed on Tuesday. In the Wednesday evening service he spoke of how the devil tried to kill him with the fire. A few months later it was learned that at the time of the fire he was having an affair with his teenage daughter’s best friend. Maybe it wasn’t the devil but God who was trying to get his attention.
Another well known evangelist commented on national television about his view that if his ministry failed most of the evangelism in the
world would come to a halt. Just months later the revelation of his
sexual infidelities came to light destroying what had been a prominent ministry. When our self talk begins to focus on how much we are doing, how much we are blessed, how much the devil is fighting us it’s a pretty good sign that pride is infecting our hearts.
3. OPENLY ACKNOWLEDGE AREAS OF FAILING OR PERSONAL STRUGGLE
Accountability partners are essential to leaders because there are some struggles that cannot be spoken of with just anyone. But there are lots of little personal struggles we can admit we have which have a humbling effect on us. Our struggle with road rage or impatience are examples I use when addressing my people. We should also face the fact of the sins of omission that even leaders are guilty of committing. This kind of honesty is a roadblock against pride.
4. PRAY FOR HUMILITY WITHOUT HUMILIATION
This is one I practice regularly as well. God’s Name, Work and Glory are of supreme important to Him. He will not let that glory be tampered with by careless living in His Name. And when we are guilty of such because pride has gained the pre-eminence in our hearts God can and will bring humiliation upon us in order to bring us back to a place of proper humility. He invites and commands us to humble ourselves so that such drastic steps are unnecessary. But if we will not respond He will humiliate us so that the world may know that in that moment we are acting for ourselves and not for Him. Peter's boastful denial is evidence of this claim.
Please use the form on the Pastor's page for your questions or comments. Please include the article's title in the message area of the form.
