When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
Summary: Pride, disgrace, humility, and wisdom are conditions of the human spirit. We seem to cycle through them as we work our way through life. Understanding the different meanings of the word “pride” helps us to better understand the goal of humility and wisdom.
I’m sad to say that today’s topic is something I have a lot of personal experience with. (I was going to say I am “proud” of my personal experience with pride, but then I felt proud of my joke and I knew I was headed for trouble.)
Pride is an interesting and often misunderstood concept. Like the word “love,” there are different meanings for the word, “pride.”
The Bible warns against pride in today’s proverb. Where there is pride, disgrace follows. But is that always true?
John writes, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16). Notice that he groups pride with lust and he calls it the “pride of life.” This pride is translated from the Greek “alazoneia” which refers to a boastful kind of pride rooted in the things of this world.
James writes, “Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position” (James 1:9). In this case, it is okay to take pride in something. The Greek word used for pride in this verse is “kauchaomai.” It means to rejoice or glory in something.
No one would say they are proud of being poor, but that is exactly what James tells the poor to do. They can be proud, not of their worldly achievements, but because they are believers. James tells us it is okay to glory in our faith. (Jesus tells a story about such a man in Luke 16: 19-31). We can have pride in our faith because God cannot fail (Luke 1:37).
Proverbs 16:18 puts it like this: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” This is where we get the saying, “Pride goes before a fall.” The boastful person is looking where? Aren’t they busy admiring themselves? Isn’t pride of life a bit like that?
Imagine a person driving down the road and suddenly they notice that they can see themselves in the rearview mirror. Oh my, they are a good-looking piece of work! Look at that face, look at those eyes, look at…
Look at the tree you just ran into.
Humility does not have that problem. The humble of heart are not interested in staring at themselves in the mirror. Instead, they have their eye on the road. They are looking around them to make sure they know what is going on. They are learning how to be a better person every day. For those of us who desire to honor God, that means being attentive to his will.
Application: Pull free of the world’s values and embrace God.
Food for Thought: Give an example of bad pride and one of good pride.
Jeremiah 9: 23 – 24 gives good examples. We boast in the Lord and delight in knowing Him, and not in worldly wisdom, strength or riches. See also 1 Corinthians 1: 30 – 31.
On another note, when I tell my children or someone in the church I am proud of them, it is meant as an encouragement to build them up. I don’t think that is what the Bible is opposing either as it is others centered and meant to foster growth in faith. When I boast in myself, that is almost always sin. And there is a difference between acknowledging gifts God has given me or something I am proficient at and prideful boasting.
Thank you, Rich!
We are blessed to be able to boast in our Biblical based church and our Bible breathin’ pastor! 🙂
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks, Randy! 🙂
05-14-2022, Proverbs 11:2, Give an example of bad pride and one of good pride.
I remember buying a beautiful, Mercedes 500SL sport car which I had wanted for years. It was a sunny day and I hit the freeways with the top down. It wasn’t long and I was feeling strange. At some point I realized I was looking at all the other drivers, checking to see if they were looking at me in my beautiful new car. “PRIDE”, I turned around, took the car home and parked it in the garage for 3 weeks. I kept the car, didn’t drive it much, eventually sold it and bought a 4 door sedan.
Today, like Rich I enjoy encouraging others regarding areas where they excel.
Ron,
You remind me of the joke about the snail who bought a Datsun 280Z. He had the “Z” removed and replaced with an “S.” The bodyshop guy asked if that was an “S” for snail. The snail replied, “When I drive down the street I want people to look at me and say, ‘Look at that S-car-go.'” (Escargot)
Old bad jokes aside, you make a great point! Thank you!
It may be old but it’s good.
With humility comes wisdom, maybe the verse is saying we should be humble with our pride so we don’t disgrace anyone. I am proud that God uses me to convey His message to those that are receptive. That’s good pride,.. bad pride may be if I was boastful about conveying His message and taking credit for it and any fruit that came from His message.
Is there such a thing as prideful wisdom? Or humbly disgraced?
It’s not that easy to pull away from the worlds value’s, I think God knows that, maybe that’s why He is soo compassionate with us.
Well said, John.
Your examples of “good pride” and “bad pride” are helpful. I can especially relate to forgetting God is behind every good thing. I like to think I am doing something special. I’ve always admired David’s example because with few exceptions he always turned to God and gave God the credit.