“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” – Proverbs 11:2
The scripture is clear that pride precedes disgrace. Basically, if you want to be humiliated and debased, allow pride to enter into your life. Disgraced people are proud people. Conversely, humility precedes wisdom. Wise people are humble people. Why? It takes humility to gain wisdom. In order to gain wisdom you must first recognize and acknowledge your lack or need and then secondly, you must seek out the solution to fill the lack. Proud people don’t do this.
WHAT PRIDE IS NOT:
Somehow, false teaching has convinced the body of Christ that anyone who is bold or confident is proud. This is not so! Pride has NOTHING to do with volume, personality or confidence. Proud people are confident in THEMSELVES. Wise people are confident in the LORD. Pride is all about self-reliance. Humility is all about dependence. Being confident in who God is and who you are in God is NOT pride. On the flip side, having your confidence rooted in your works or ability is the essence of pride.
The acid test of pride is disgrace and the acid test of humility is wisdom.
Several years ago I acquired a large account through my design business. We were hired to redo all the signage on a large hotel in Atlanta. The project was huge, dealing with factors I had never before encountered. When my Dad heard about the account, he strongly warned me about getting in over my head, encouraging me to either get help or give someone else the account. Arrogantly and with an eye towards the big payday for completing the account, I presumed I could handle it on my own.
Boy was I wrong! Before the nightmare project was over, I would lose several months of time, be threatened with lawsuits and lose my shirt to the tune of $12,000 on the disaster.
LIFE LESSON?
Wherever you find a disgraceful chapter in your life, you will find pride.
The scripture is clear that pride precedes disgrace. Basically, if you want to be humiliated and debased, allow pride to enter into your life. Disgraced people are proud people. Conversely, humility precedes wisdom. Wise people are humble people. Why? It takes humility to gain wisdom. In order to gain wisdom you must first recognize and acknowledge your lack or need and then secondly, you must seek out the solution to fill the lack. Proud people don’t do this.
WHAT PRIDE IS NOT:
Somehow, false teaching has convinced the body of Christ that anyone who is bold or confident is proud. This is not so! Pride has NOTHING to do with volume, personality or confidence. Proud people are confident in THEMSELVES. Wise people are confident in the LORD. Pride is all about self-reliance. Humility is all about dependence. Being confident in who God is and who you are in God is NOT pride. On the flip side, having your confidence rooted in your works or ability is the essence of pride.
The acid test of pride is disgrace and the acid test of humility is wisdom.
Several years ago I acquired a large account through my design business. We were hired to redo all the signage on a large hotel in Atlanta. The project was huge, dealing with factors I had never before encountered. When my Dad heard about the account, he strongly warned me about getting in over my head, encouraging me to either get help or give someone else the account. Arrogantly and with an eye towards the big payday for completing the account, I presumed I could handle it on my own.
Boy was I wrong! Before the nightmare project was over, I would lose several months of time, be threatened with lawsuits and lose my shirt to the tune of $12,000 on the disaster.
LIFE LESSON?
Wherever you find a disgraceful chapter in your life, you will find pride.
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