Pride
- Venus Jackson
- Mar 31
- 3 min read
Proverbs 16
It is easy to allow pride to dominate our lives to the point that we forget whose we are and why we are actually doing a God ordained assignment.
An example of the consequence of sinful pride is Saul being replaced by David in the Bible.
Saul started off humbly.
In fact, he was informed of his kingship during a time in which he considered himself to be the lowest of the Benjaminites while doing an everyday mundane task for his father - traveling to and fro in search of his father's donkeys (Samuel 10).
His mistake? Once he gained kingship and found himself in situations that tested his patience (1 Samuel 13:8-15), he sometimes ended up making rash decions.
Examples?
He made a vow that his entire army was to do a fast. This vow ended up weakening the physical strength of his army (1 Samuel 14:24-30).
He also disobeyed God -- by not killing the king or destroying the best goods of an enemy nation -- with the excuse that he was doing what was best for God. (1 Samuel 15)
What's worse is that through all of this disobedience, the only time he confessed to his mistakes and asked for God's forgiveness was when he realized that God was serious about replacing him. (1 Samuel 15)
Don't get me wrong. Personally, Saul sounds like an ideal leader. Tall, handsome and decisive. Whenever he came up against a problem, he was quick to handle things swiftly and decisively doing what he thought was best.
Makes perfect sense to have him as king.
But God had a different expectation from the king.
...to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams...
Saul became a leader who picked and chose how he was going to obey God. Saul decided on his own what was best and acted accordingly. He did not follow God's every instruction in the most critical or stressful situations. He acted in pride.
This pride could have been the result of his fear:
fear that he would look weak in front of others,
fear that he would be defeated,
fear of losing control, fear that he and others would die,
fear that God is not with us.
And those types of fear will have us taking matters into our own hands and making foolish decisions.
Can you think of times you may have acted out of pride?
Pride can slip up on us. We can get so caught up in our tasks and ensuring that it is done 'right' according to ourselves that we forget we are supposed to check in with our leader, God the Father.
Proverbs 16
2All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Discussion Summary and Comments
If you feel led. Share the verse from Proverbs 16 that spoke to you about pride in the comments.
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