“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24
Reflect
It cannot be ignored—we are in the midst of a time where pride is being celebrated and exalted. People are being told to take part in celebrating bodily and spiritual autonomy without any regard to what impacts it may have on themselves and others. But when we truly consider the word “pride”, is it really something we should be delighting in? We will find within the pages of Scripture that pride, in any form outside of the satisfaction of who God is, is a very dangerous thing.
Pride stems from self-righteousness and self-seeking desires. It was the pride of life, not of God, that caused Adam and Eve to fall in the garden (Genesis 3). Much like fallen men, pride caused Satan to be casted down from heaven for wanting to be the creator instead of the created (Isaiah 14:12-15). In the book of Proverbs, when wisdom calls out to the people to heed godly counsel, pride is condemned. It goes hand in hand with arrogance, evil behavior, and perverse speech (Proverbs 8:13). Sounds much like what we are hearing today in our society, does it not? Pride, at its core, is self-worship and idolatry is condemned in Scripture (Exodus 20:2). Those who rise up in defiance against God and His ways will surely meet destruction and disaster in their foolishness and rejection of Him (Psalm 10:3-4; Isaiah 14:22).
Instead, we are called to fear the Lord, to revere the Lord of hosts and hate evil. We are called to boast and take delight in God alone (Jeremiah 9:23-24). We exalt His holiness and goodness (1 Chronicles 16:34). We praise His grand and perfect design for nature and mankind (Genesis 1:1-31; Genesis 1:27) and God sending His Son to reconcile us back to Himself by taking our sins upon Himself and giving us His perfect righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). His faithfulness and promises to His people, whether it is in the rainbow or the cross, is cause for great celebration because of what it truly points to: a God who is worthy of all praise, admiration, and worship—not ourselves.
Prayer
Father God, we ask for Your help in keeping our sinful and ungodly tendencies to take Your place on the throne subdued by Your mercy and grace. We ask for Your saving power to be at work in the lives of those who hate You and mock Your ways. We pray that the pride of life be far from our lips and hearts, and that You replace it with a zeal and desire to see Your glory be honored in our lives. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Your Turn
Where in your life has pride taken hold? Submit that to God right now and find grace and mercy!
