Ego, Pride, and the Power of 'I Am': Part Two
Pride: The Sin Culture Calls Strength
Pride is celebrated everywhere today—in motivational slogans, social media captions, and self-help books. We're encouraged to be proud of ourselves, our truth, and our journey. Pride is marketed as empowerment. But biblically, pride isn't a badge of honor—it's a warning sign.
In biblical understanding, pride is not strength but isolation. It's not confidence but deterioration. What makes pride especially dangerous is that it doesn't always appear evil. It often masquerades as independence, ambition, or success.
What Is Pride Biblically?
Pride is more than mere arrogance. At its root, pride is a denial of our dependence on God. It's the mindset that declares, "I've got this," when everything about our existence cries out, "I need Him."
Lucifer fell because of pride: "I will ascend... I will be like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14)
Adam and Eve disobeyed because of pride: "You will be like God." (Genesis 3:5)
Pride is often considered the original sin—the root from which other sins grow.
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Throne of Pride
In early Christian thought, the Seven Deadly Sins—pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth—began with pride. Why? because pride empowers the others.
Greed says, "I deserve more."
Lust says, "My pleasure comes first."
Envy says: "I should have what's theirs."
Wrath says, "How dare they do this to me?"
Gluttony says: "I want it when I want it."
Sloth says, "I'm too important to bother."
Each begins with an inflated sense of self-importance.
How Pride Is Celebrated Today
Our culture has repackaged pride as authenticity:
"Live your truth."
"You are your own god."
"You don't need anyone else."
These mantras sound empowering, but they echo Lucifer's fall. Pride doesn't always roar; sometimes it whispers in self-made philosophies and spiritual autonomy.
This isn't healthy self-worth. It's about who sits on the heart's throne—you or God?
The Cost of Pride
Pride blinds. Pride distorts. Pride isolates. Scripture shows us what pride cost some of its most prominent figures:
Pharaoh hardened his heart and lost everything (Exodus 7–12).
King Saul clung to power and lost his throne (1 Samuel 15).
Nebuchadnezzar boasted, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built?" and was humbled until he acknowledged God (Daniel 4:30-37).
Pride precedes a fall—every time.
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
Pride vs. Humility
Humility is not low self-esteem—it's proper self-placement. It's recognizing who you are in light of who God is.
Jesus, while equal to God, "made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-8). He washed feet. He carried a cross. He didn't have to prove anything—He embodied everything.
Humility isn't thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less and thinking of God more.
The key insight: Replace pride with reverence. Pride is a throne we were never meant to occupy. Reverence is the posture we were created for. The world labels pride as strength, but it's recognized as a sin in God's kingdom. True strength is found in surrender—when we step down from self-exaltation and lift up the One who alone is worthy of glory.
