The Killer of Pride
Hello everyone! Last week, we finished our nine week discussion on the Fruit of the Spirit. If you haven’t read those blogs, I would recommend you explore each one. Today, we are shifting our focus to humility. In our walk with Christ, it’s important that we maintain a posture of humility. In order to achieve this, we must address any prideful desires and actions we have and seek to remove them from our lives. As children of YAH, we should live humbly seeking to do the will of our Father, not driven by lust and the prideful things of this world. We shouldn’t be caught up in the materialism that permeates our society. Instead, as children of the Most High, there should be a distinction between us and those in the world. We should be known for our modesty and humility.
In today’s discussion, we will: (1) gain an understanding of humility, (2) learn the enemy of humility, (3) explore the believer’s example of humility, and (4) discover how we can walk humbly.
Understanding Humility
Humility is…
Humility is not…
Now that we have an understanding of what humility means we can move on to discuss the enemy of it.
Pride: The Enemy of Humility
In our efforts to pursue a lifestyle of humility, we must address the areas of pride in our lives. When we operate in pride, it hinders us from walking in humility. There are many scriptures that show the consequences of pride. Listed above are some scriptures that mention the consequences as well as the benefits of being humble. Pride and humility are like oil and water; they simply do not mix. To maintain a posture of humility, we must remove pride from our lives. This area can be very tricky, and we may find ourselves unaware that we are operating in it. It requires us to seek God to examine our hearts and allow Him to reveal anything hidden in it. We must be willing to confront whatever He reveals. It’s not always an easy task to allow the Holy Spirit to shine a light on this area; but, it’s necessary. We can not be children of the Most High God and walk around in pride. We are called to live a lifestyle of humility.
Pride can show up in various ways and forms within our lives. It can be on a small or grand scale depending on the individual. Pride is very evident when boasting about your possessions (house, vehicles, clothing, etc.) or flaunting your wealth to look appealing to others. Pride is in operation when individuals put their worth in their accomplishments. They find their identity in their education, college degrees, or career. They operate with a superiority complex, believing they are better than individuals with less formal education. There is a greater emphasis on titles over Godly character. They may view others with lesser paying jobs or careers as beneath them. The issue isn’t about obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher; neither is it about having a career that pays well. It’s a commendable achievement to further your education, which allows you to expand your career endeavors. But in doing so, it should not cause you to look down on others who do not have the same opportunities. A college degree does not make you better than a person who only has a high school diploma or GED. Having a successful high-paying career does not make you a better person than an individual with a lesser recognized and paid career. We should not boast about our achievements and possessions. As children of the Most High God we shouldn’t seek validation through worldly standards, it should come through YAH alone.
Pride can also manifest itself through vanity, in which we become overly concerned with our image. I would explain it as taking self-care to the extreme. It’s like a person who first started working out with the goal of staying physically active while maintaining a healthy weight. Then, it turns into an obsession with having to look a certain way or to gain attention from others. A prime example would be people who post “thirst traps” on social media. Instead of sharing authentic fitness content, it simply creates a stumbling block for others. As believers, we should be aware of what we post and how it can be perceived by others. It’s not wise to allow the desire to be noticed and affirmed by others cause us to operate in vanity.
Also, in the quest of self-care and self-love, we should not become enamored with ourselves, which turns into self-absorption. We can take care of ourselves and look nice without going to extremes, drastically changing our image. With our new life in Christ, we no longer live for ourselves, but we live by the faith of Jesus Christ whose Spirit dwells on the inside of us. We should love ourselves but not become consumed by it. As we mature in our faith and discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will alert us when this is operating in our lives. It’s not condemnation but conviction to make the necessary changes. It comes from a place of love and care not to shame us but to bring correction.
Our Example of Humility
In this section, we will discuss our example of humility. We don’t have to look far. We look to our Savior to show us how we ought to walk in humility. Philippians Chapter 2 gives us a clear understanding that believers should be likeminded, of the same love, on one accord and of the same mind. We are not self-seeking, only concerned with ourselves and our needs. We collectively should be seeking to do YAH’s will. This is not a place of selfish ambition and self exaltation. There are no big “I’s” and little “you’s.” Each member within the body of Christ serves a purpose in accomplishing God’s will in the earth. Verse 5 states, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” As followers of Christ, we should have the same mindset as Him. He displayed a lifestyle of humility, service to others, and obedience to the Father. In order for believers to replicate this, we must remove pride from our lives.
When pride is in operation, it prevents us from following Christ’s example. We can not have an air of self-importance, which inhibits us from humbling ourselves to serve others. As believers, we should never view serving as beneath us. If our Savior modeled it for us, we need to do the same. Likewise, in the same manner in which Christ obeyed to the point of death, we must die to our flesh and its lustful desires. To live a life pleasing to our Father, we must have a lifestyle of self-denial. It is not a life of convenience, indulgence in pleasure, and materialism. It is one of seeking to do God’s will no matter what it costs.
How to Walking in Humility
- Submission to God
- The first step to walking in humility
- Making the decision to lay down your will to submit to God’s will
- Allow Him to reveal areas where you are operating in pride
- Admittance
- Moment of Honesty: After the area(s) of pride in our lives are revealed, we must admit that it is there and address it.
- No avoidance
- Moment of Honesty: After the area(s) of pride in our lives are revealed, we must admit that it is there and address it.
- Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit
- Allow the Spirit of God to help you to operate with humility rather than pride
- Make the decision to live humbly
- We can choose to continue walking in pride or allow humility to replace it.
- Seeking God to give you the ability to overcome pride rather than it ruling over you
- When we operate in humility, YAH gives us more grace.
Make it Applicable
- In respect of your accomplishments/achievements
- Sharing and celebrating them with your loved ones without boasting
- When sharing online, being mindful of your reason for sharing: Is it genuine, to prove something to the naysayers, or an attempt to draw the praises of people?
- Do not become so wrapped up in titles that you miss the importance of Godly character and producing spiritual fruit
- Regarding vanity
- Taking care of ourselves and looking nice and presentable without going to extremes changing our image.
- Choose not to become obsessive with our appearance or fixated on our beauty
- 1 Timothy 2:9-10 KJV
[9] In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness [modesty, bashfulness] and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; [10] but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
- 1 Timothy 2:9-10 KJV
- Choosing not to seek external validation regarding our image.
