Prideful Responses Vs. Humble Responses

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:3)

The Christian life is an invitation to be humble. Jesus put it this way in Luke – “²³ … ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself (Forget yourself. Humble yourself.) and take up his cross daily (Forget yourself daily. Humble yourself daily.) and follow me. (as the preeminent example of humility)²⁴ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life (or gives us his life for me) for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

Thus, to be a prideful Christian is an oxymoron. Richard Baxter, that English Puritan of the 17^th century, wrote, “It is a contradiction in terms, to be a Christian, and not humble.”

What then is humility? One simple answer comes from a book entitled Humility: The Forgotten Virtue by Wayne Mack, who is a former professor of mine: “Humility, then, consists in an attitude wherein we receive our own insignificance and unworthinesss before God and attribute to Him the supreme honor, praise, prerogatives, rights, privileges, worship, devotion, authority, submission, and obedience that He alone deserved. … It means having a servant’s mind-set and always putting self last.” (pg. 26)

In the Bible, we see countless examples of saints expressing this kind of godly humility that God longs for in all of us.

• Abraham referred to himself as “dust and ashes” when he approached God in prayer asking for mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis18).

• Jacob realized his unworthiness to be an object of God’s faithfulness in providing for him and his forefathers (Genesis 32).

• When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, Moses questioned himself as worthy of being God’s chosen to lead the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity; Moses saw his physical inabilities (Exodus 3).

• When Gideon was called to lead Israel against Midian, he felt his smallness and thought he was the last one in the land God wanted to lead His army (Judges 6).

• John the Baptist felt quite uncomfortable with being asked to baptize Jesus; he said he was unworthy to even untie Jesus’ sandals (John 1).

• When Peter was initially called to leave his fishing vocation to follow Christ, he was hesitant because of his sin (Luke 5).

Question – how can we measure humility? How can we detect pride? Well, those questions have seen countless books written, countless blog posts and articles published, etc. There are many ways to detect a prideful heart.

Here are 6 questions given to me by a friend some years ago that you can use to evaluate the level of pride or humility in your heart:

1. Who draws the moral boundaries in your life? A prideful man believes they can determine their own morality; a humble man adheres to God’s Word for their own morality.

2. Who comes first in your life? A prideful man “looks out for #1”; a humble man doesn’t put himself into the equation.

3. What is your initial reaction when you receive a gift? A prideful man enjoys being the center of attention; a humble man is shocked that anyone would give him/her anything.

4. What or who do you trust? A prideful man believes their own strength and intelligence will be enough for a fulfilled life; a humble man doesn’t trust himself above God.

5. Do you have enemies? A prideful man wants to appease everyone and will compromise his/her faith to get it; a humble man will likely have enemies, as a cost of following Christ.

6. Do you believe God or society owes you something? A prideful man believes he is entitled; a humble man doesn’t believe anything is owed to him and senses the grace of God in every blessing.