“Spiritual Pride”
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug.” Isaiah 51:1 NASBS
Pride is one of the most dangerous sins we face as Christians. Even though Jesus was delivered over to death for our transgressions and was raised for our justification, having also been purified by His precious blood, our fleshly appetites still seek to overthrow the grace of God, which was freely given to us. Therefore, we must always be aware of this conflict that rages within our very own soul, lest we find ourselves living in opposition against the word of God or seeking to enter daily worship with false humility. Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Christ, we must learn to search out and plumb the deepest affections of our heart, for just as the Proverb says, “The lizard you may grasp with the hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces,” so too, pride is acknowledged by every Christian. Yet, it is still found in every area of his heart.”
Pride causes disharmony within the church, destroys the intimacy between Christians, fights against the supremacy of God’s sovereignty, and unfortunately, it is found even in our tears of repentance. To fight the good battle against the wickedness of pride, we must never forget the position for which we stood before the grace of God awakened us to the depth of our sins. We were enemies of God, haters of righteousness, and fully deserving of His divine wrath. If so Christian, we would have plucked His beard, stripped Him naked, put a crown of thorns upon His head, and arrayed Him in a kingly vestment while we mocked and beat Him with a royal scepter. Oh, the sinfulness of fleshly pride, how it longs to remove God from the throne of the heart, even though He redeemed us with the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
There is no doubt the verse above was spoken to the nation of Israel by Isaiah, as God moved upon his heart, but it can be applied to us as well. Just as Israel had forgotten where they came from, synchronizing themselves to the perversion of the foreign nations, so we too wander from the God Who loves us. As time goes by, if we are not intentional about our daily worship, we will begin to neglect the very thing that gives us the strength needed each day to overcome the besetting sins that so easily entangle us. It is at this moment pride begins to rise within us. We even start to look down upon others as if we have achieved holiness within ourselves instead of prayerfully engaging in spiritual warfare on their behalf. If we are not careful, we even forget our sinful departures from His word, as well as those moments when we were ashamed to bear the cross of Christ in boldness with fear of what we might lose. Lord, recall to our memory the rock from which we were hewn and the quarry from which we were dug so that we never think we are better than those who are struggling with the temptations of this world.