Is all pride sinful?

Proverbs 16:18, James 4:6, Philippians 2:8

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The Bible talks a lot about pride. Proverbs 16 says this

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit precedes a fall. (James 4:6)

James four tells us that

“God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 16:18)

That’s some strong language from God that speaks against the sin of pride. But I have to be honest, if I’m watching my kids and I see them do something kind for someone else when they don’t think anybody is watching, or if they do something amazing. I’m proud of them. And I’m sure you felt this too, that if you’ve worked a long time on a big project and it comes out well, you’re proud of the work that you do.

So why do we use this positive word to talk about something that God speaks against? Is all pride sinful? Here’s the distinction. So even in the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam work. Work is a gift from God. Adam was to care for the garden. He was to name the animals that God had created. And so that sense of accomplishment, that good feeling that we have when a job is well done, that’s not sinful pride. That’s not what God is speaking against here. It’s gratitude. We’re saying, thank you, Lord, for enabling me to do what you’ve called me to do. Thank you, Lord, for giving me this job to complete.

Instead sinful pride is the opposite. It’s taking for ourselves what belongs to God. It’s taking credit for what he has given to us. And saying this instead belongs to me. Pride is dangerous because it takes the glory that belongs to God alone, and it keeps it for ourselves. At its core, pride is self worship. It’s setting ourselves up at the center of the story instead of God. And here’s the thing God loves us too much to let us stay there.

Because if we think that we are good enough for him, if we think that we can prove ourselves to him, we’ll never understand our real need for him. It’s only when we let the law work and remove any sense of self-righteousness from us, that we can truly understand what he has done for us, that we can truly understand the love that he has shown to us. And nowhere is that love more clearly shown than in His Son and our Savior, Jesus.

Now we look at Jesus and there is no pride there. There is no need for self-promotion. There is no need to prove himself. Philippians two says this

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.(Philippians 2:8)

Jesus came not to take the glory, but to serve. He came in complete humility to dress himself in human flesh, to live for us, and then to go to the cross to die for us. And it’s on that cross where every single one of our sins was paid for, even the sin of pride. So when you feel that sin of pride creeping in, or when you have that question in your mind, is this gratefulness to God over a job well done? Is this a sense of accomplishment or is this sinful? Ask yourself this: am I pointing others to me? Or am I pointing others to my God? Am I giving the glory and gratitude to him, or am I taking it for myself? Am I trying to prove to God that I’m good enough? Or am I resting in the fact that Jesus is enough for me? Because that’s the good news. He is.

Because of Christ all of our sins are forgiven because of him we can live in total, complete gratitude. And the more clearly we see the love and the forgiveness that Christ has won for us, the more we can live not in self glory, but in gratitude and gratefulness for what he has done for us. The Lord’s blessings to you.