Focus: Arrogance

Text: Prov.16:18

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Arrogance is not for the man who has experienced the grace of God in his life and knows the meaning of it. A proud Christian is both carnal and ignorant. Jeremiah declares, "We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart" (Jer.48:29). Moab is suffering from the disease of arrogance.

*Why the arrogance?

Jeremiah speaks again: "Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD" (Jer.49:16). Pride is often born out of a sense of entitlement, of accomplishment, and of a false sense of security.

The church of Laodicea says, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing…" (Rev.3:17). This church is indeed spiritually diseased, carnally conceited and mentally blind. How can one say, I have need of nothing? This is simply being proud of stuff and status. Apostle John calls it, "the pride of life." It is the pride of possessions and position. It is the pride of who I am, what I am, and what I can do or achieve.

We are proud of:

*Power, position and privileges

*Riches and resources

*Intelligence and influence

*Dignity of rising profile

*Expertise and exploits

Arrogance is an ego problem so that one can be proud, regardless of whether he has something or nothing. People can be poor and proud at the same time. Pride is not a function of having so much or so little. It is a mental attitude and a spiritual sickness.

What is pride really? Here is an acronym of what pride is:

*Preoccupation with self

*Reliance on self

*Ignorance of life's true values

*Devotedness to pleasing self

*Error of thought or mind

Pride is a form of self-worship.

*What God rules against pride

In Ezekiel 16:49, God calls pride, "iniquity." It is sin to be arrogant. Solomon says, in Proverbs 16:5, a proud person is an abomination to the Lord. In Psalm 119:21, God says the proud errs from His commandments, and so He rebukes and places a curse on him. So the proud is under the curse of God. Peter and James tell us that God resists the proud (Jam.4:6; 1Pet.5:5). Virgin Mary says that God has scattered the proud (Lk.1:51). In Isaiah 13:11, God says "I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease." Jeremiah says God "will mar your pride" (Jer.13:9). Solomon tells us that "the LORD will destroy the house of the proud" (Prov.15:25).

Pride is destruction in the making. It ruins. It stems from a poverty of the mind - poor thinking and an ugly attitude. Obadiah says a proud person is self-deluded (Obad.1:3).

I pray God to help us conquer pride in our lives and become truly humble. God exalts the humble. Why boast of things that do not last forever? There is no sense in that. Lord, help us!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter