Sunday Leftovers (9/16/07)

The heart of pride is not only the exaltation of self, but even more tragically, it is the diminishing of God. As Thomas Watson has noted, "pride is the greatest sacrilege; it robs God of his glory."

Every prideful act is a defiant gesture of the inadequacy of God, and the self-exaltation of self. This was at the heart of the Pharisees' obstinate rejection of Christ (exemplified by their questions in John 8). But these particular sins of the Pharisees were not the only ones infected by pride. All sin is the manifestation of a desire that seeks satisfaction in something other than God. All sin is an expression of the heart that says, "I have a better understanding of what is good, satisfying, and God-glorifying than God Himself."

And so it is that not only do the Pharisees succumb to pride in their every sin. So do I.

In every sin I commit, I am admitting that my affections for God are weak and that my yearning for the preeminence of me is supreme.

This is evil.

It's not a character flaw. It's not a deficiency. It's not something I will outgrow. It is evil.

According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil is Pride. Unchastity, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea-bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." [C. S. Lewis]

Pride approaches with its destructive forces every time we question Scripture instead of submit to it with statements like, "I don't think it means that…;" "I know it says ______, but surely that doesn't mean _______;" "I know it says ______, but it only says it one time…;" or "but that is not a sin that is troublesome for me…"

Pride says "I am preeminent in importance and God is subservient to my best interests." One of the better explanations of it ways given by A. W. Tozer a generation ago:

Sin has many manifestations but its essence is one. A moral being, created to worship before the throne of God, sits on the throne of his own selfhood and from that elevated position declares, 'I AM.' That is sin in its concentrated essence." [A Knowledge of the Holy.]

And this is a daily reality for every man everywhere, whether he willingly acknowledges it or not.