HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 271
page A269
Pride can blind you to your vulnerability to temptation and lead you to commit sins you
never thought you could.
• NU MB E R S 2 2 :2 2 -2 3 , 2 5 , 2 9, 3 1 | As Balaam and two servants were riding along, Balaam’s
donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword. . . . The donkey
bolted off the road. . . . The donkey . . . tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot
against the wall. . . . “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a
sword with me, I would kill you!” . . . Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the
angel of the Lord.
The next time your pride is hurt and you feel anger rising up within you, don’t assume
that you are right and everyone else is at fault. Balaam’s anger immediately flared up
against his donkey. Balaam assumed that he was right and that the donkey was at fault.
Fortunately for Balaam, God revealed to him that the donkey had saved his life. Instead
of soothing your pride by justifying your actions, see whether you can justify your motives.
This will tell you if your anger is warranted and your pride overinflated.
• G E NE SI S 1 1 :4 | “Let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the
sky. This will make us famous.”
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 3 :5 | It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own.
Our qualification comes from God.
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• E Z E K I E L 3 1 :1 8 | “O Egypt, to which of the trees of Eden will you compare your strength
and glory? You, too, will be brought down to the depths with all these other nations. You
will lie there among the outcasts who have died by the sword. This will be the fate of
Pharaoh and all his hordes. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
• PSA L M 1 8 :2 7 | You rescue the humble, but you humiliate the proud.
• PR O VE R B S 1 6 :1 8 | Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
• MAT T H E W 2 3 :1 2 | “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be exalted.”
God loves the humble but humiliates the proud. Don’t humiliate yourself by thinking you’re
above rescuing. If you reject your Savior now, on the day of judgment he will reject you
because of your arrogance and pride.
When is pride healthy and appropriate?
• R O MA NS 1 5 :1 7 | So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done
through me. (See note on page 1026.)
Paul was proud not of what he had accomplished but of what God had done through him.
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 5 :1 2 | Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you
a reason to be proud of us.
Like Paul, if we take pride in anything, we ought to take pride in the integrity and honesty
of our ministry and life.
What’s the difference between healthy confidence and unhealthy pride?
• J O B 1 9 :2 5 | “I know that my Redeemer lives.”
• 1 J O H N 3 :2 | But we do know that we will be like him.
Healthy confidence is a realization and an assurance that God loves you, that he has given
you talents and gifts and the ability to use them for him, that he has offered you salvation
and eternal life in heaven. Knowing this gives you complete certainty that your life can
have meaning now and forever.
• 2 C H R O NI C L E S 2 6 :1 6 | When he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led
to his downfall.
Pride is the ingredient that causes our confidence to become arrogant and cocky. When
we think we can do it ourselves and then we stop seeking God’s help—these are the warning signs that confidence has turned to arrogance.
HelpFinder
Power is intoxicating—with it comes recognition, control, and often wealth. Each of these
feeds pride, and pride leads us away from God and into sin.