Pride
At a church service I attended many years ago, I heard a family tell a story about pride. I was blown away by the impact of their powerful message: God’s plans for the Harrison family were nearly destroyed by their pride.
Money Isn’t Everything
When John Harrison left the military, he started a job selling cleaning products door to door. He was an exceptional salesman and was quickly promoted, becoming an area manager with several employees working for him. John eventually bought his own franchise of the business, and he and
his wife worked hard to build a multimillion dollar company. They lived in the comforts of one of the exclusive upscale neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their wealth and success earned them the traditional millionaire toys—luxury cars, expensive handbags, diamond jewelry, priceless artwork, and extravagant vacations. They were living “the American Dream”. During a visit with a customer, Jane Harrison had a truly life-changing experience. While chatting, the woman shared the message of Jesus with her. Jane found the message so powerful she surrendered her heart to the Lord, asking for forgiveness and accepting Jesus into her heart. She left that fateful meeting full of hope but longing for more. The minute she got home, Jane shared her experience with her husband but he was not as excited by the encounter.
Jane held on to the experience and began to make drastic changes in her life. She took time off work, going to conferences, and traveling around the world to hear different ministers speak and teach about Jesus. At a revival in Louisiana, one full of singing, clapping, and preaching, Jane’s life
was forever changed. The revival service was led by a minister from Africa, and after four hours of preaching God’s word he asked people to line up and receive prayer. Jane stood in line, expecting God to do something in her heart that He had never done before. After all, the man had preached
about feeling God’s presence in a tangible way and she had read stories of people receiving miracles and healing in their bodies.
The preacher reached out, grabbed her by the hand, and started praying. In that moment, Jane felt the most incredible heat go into her hand and shoot through her whole body. She said it was hot yet comforting, as if God Himself had engulfed her in a warm blanket. She left that meeting feeling different, as if her skin was new. She felt clean, as if whatever that sensation was had burned off the sins in her life.
Jane had felt God’s overwhelming love and it changed her in fundamental ways. She immediately got on the phone with her husband, who was working at home in south Florida. She tried to describe what happened during the prayer but she couldn’t get the words out because she was crying so hard. Concerned for his wife and wanting to know what happened, John flew out to join her the following day. As soon as the revival service started, John swore he felt rain, as if a total downpour had begun. Being from South Florida, he knew what it felt like for the skies to suddenly unleash a torrential rain where nothing was visible beyond five feet—a rain that hits the skin like pins and needles. However, when John opened his eyes he was completely dry, not a drop of water anywhere, yet he could still feel this downpour hitting him. John soon realized God was pouring out His presence and love on his body. When John later shared his story with the congregation, he said that was the night God told him to attend a Bible college and become a preacher. John and his wife had only weeks to finalize their decision to attend Bible college. They sold their business and gave away much of the furniture and artwork in their home. Things that were once so precious, the spoils of their hard work, now seemed worthless. Their encounter with God during that revival service revealed to them how they had let worldly things—riches, notoriety, and business success—create a false sense of fulfillment. Their lives had become full of pride. They
allowed their achievements and possessions to define who they were. God took away from the Harrisons the desire to be fulfilled by personal success and instead taught them to find fulfillment only in Jesus. The couple wanted to honor God with their lives, so when God directed them to go to Bible college, they listened and acted on His Word.
It took six weeks for the Harrisons to sell or give away their possessions and then they moved to refocus their lives. The couple spent the next three years learning about Jesus while attending a Bible college in west Florida. They went from their mansion near the beach to renting a tiny townhouse where the appliances barely worked. Instead of working traditional jobs, they served in the local church connected to the school. They volunteered for every position, whether that meant scrubbing toilets or packing boxes of food for the needy. When it neared time for them to complete their studies, God spoke to Jane, telling her to pack their bags and prepare to travel. She wasn’t sure where they were going but she did as God instructed. She purchased luggage, packed six suitcases for the two of them, renewed their passports, and set the suitcases by the front door.
A week after graduation, the church’s pastor approached the Harrisons and asked about their future plans. The pastor had no idea of the Harrisons’ business background, only knowing them as a faithful and reliable couple that had just completed college. He had watched them serve in different
departments around the church. The pastor stunned them by asking, “Would you and your wife be willing to travel the country with me when I start preaching in other churches?” There it was! The
very thing God spoke to Jane about was coming true. The couple spent the next five years traveling with the pastor throughout the U.S. and around the world. They were later offered salaried positions to run global missions for the church, overseeing a large staff of volunteers and missionaries. About ten years after setting upon their new paths, while running the church’s
missions department, the Harrisons reentered the business world and repurchased the franchise they once owned. The couple had learned not to let pride control their life, making God the center of every decision and surrendering their comfort for His purpose. The Harrisons learned that
wealth gained through their own strengths lead only to pride, and once God saw their contentment with the little they had, He rewarded them openly by giving back more than they could ever imagine.
God Hates Pride
God is love. He loves everyone unconditionally, no matter where they are in life. However, there are things that God hates. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists the seven things God hates, and pride is first on the list. “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” (Proverbs 8:13) God hates pride because it directly opposes the characteristics He wants people to strive for, to be humble, lowly, loving, trustworthy, meek, and Godfearing. Because it is opposed to God, pride is the root of all the evil that takes place. A prideful person loves money before God, has selfish ambition, and looks at their wealth as something acquired by their own hand, leaving God out of it. The root of pride is found in every vice that is opposed to God. Vices like anger, sexual immorality, and drunkenness proclaim we don’t need to follow the rules.
They tell God, “I am my own person and I can do what I want, when I want—screw the consequences.” James 4 tells us pride is rebellion towards God. It allows a person to be haughty of the things they do; living by their own rules and disregarding the rules God has already put in place for us. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
Before their life-changing experience at the revival, the Harrisons were good people who took care of their employees, but pride still ruled their lives. The accolades and praise they received from their accomplishments and successes were theirs alone— not God’s. They allowed pride to overshadow the blessings God gave them. The focus was on them and not on God. Their collections were their validation instead of God. There is a harsh warning against greed and pride in Deuteronomy, Chapter 8. God warns the people that He is the one taking care of them, providing all that they need, and that their great wealth is not anything they have done but is there because they are humbly serving Him. God warns not to deny all He does for them when they see their success as something they accomplished. God also warns people not to let pride overtake their lives to the point that they follow idols or false gods. God wants everyone to remember Him when it comes to success and wealth.
“ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Pride comes in many forms. A person’s pride may not be as obvious as the Harrisons’; few people have a million-dollar business and thousands of dollars worth of valuable items in their home. Pride can be a desire to be repeatedly praised for an accomplishment or believing you are better than other people. Have you looked down on a homeless person? Seen a disheveled woman and judged her? Made fun of someone who was handicapped or made a mistake? Those are all signs of pride, of thinking you are somehow better than another of God’s precious creations. The only way to overcome pride is to first ask forgiveness from God and He is always ready to do so. Once forgiven by God, people should seek forgiveness in one another. People must live humbly. Christ serves as an example of how to live a life of humility.
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with
God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
(James 4:10) Jesus endured all these painful experiences so people can be exalted with Him. (Philippians 2:9-11)
By following God’s commands and being humble, people will find that they have no room in their hearts for pride.
Questions for Reflection
- Why does God hate pride?
- Can you identify where you may have pride?
- Why do you think God exalts humble people?
- Read Deuteronomy Chapter 8. What did God provide to the children of Israel?
- Read Deuteronomy Chapter 8. What does God think about wealth?
- Read James 4:1-6. James connects pride to people’s vices and activities. Using James’s definition of “lust”, identify things in your life you lust for.
