"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

There is a very dangerous sin that, in my estimation, is doing more to hold back revival, destroy homes, ruin this nation, cause Christians to live in failure and defeat, and fill hell than any other sin. Very frankly, it is the sin of pride.

Pride is such a deceitful sin. Many people who are infected and infested with pride have no idea that they are. As a matter of fact, the proud person is often very proud of his humility.


What Is Pride?
Pride is an attitude of independence from God. Do you know why people don't pray? Prayerlessness is not the great problem. The great problem is they don't feel a need to. Prayerlessness is really a spirit of independence from God. If you're wrestling with prayerlessness, what you're really wrestling with is pride.

Pride is also esteeming one's self above other people. Do you think that because you have achieved certain things or have certain things that you’re better than somebody else?

Below are some of the indicators of a proud person:

    - A proud person becomes irritated when corrected for mistakes.
    - A proud person accepts praise for things over which he or she has no control.
    - Pride will not admit mistakes.
    - Pride refuses to take counsel and to learn from other people.
    - Pride often shows itself in competition with other people.
    - Pride does not want more; pride wants more than somebody else.


Five Ways Pride Ruins and Devastates Lives
Pride defies God. Pride is a fist in the face of God. It was pride that turned Lucifer, the son of the morning, into Satan, the father of the night. In the Garden of Eden, when Satan came to tempt Eve, the temptation was to be as God. It was the same thing that had caused Satan to fall.

Pride defiles man. We were born with pride, and it defiles the very heart of man. (Mark 7:21-23) If you see an apple with a worm hole in it, the worm did not bore into the apple; he bored out of it. The egg was laid in the blossom, and the worm was hatched inside the apple and made its way out. Pride is on the inside and makes its way out of our hearts. We need to be born again, because when we were born the first time, we were born with a nature inclined to pride.

Pride divides society. There has never been an argument, a war, a divorce, nor a church split that pride was not the major factor. Proverbs 13:10 states, "Only by pride cometh contention..." and Proverbs 28:25 says, "He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife...." If God resists the proud, then the proud man is out of fellowship with God. Anyone who is out of fellowship with God is going to be out of fellowship with other people.

Pride dishonors life. The proud person wants praise, honor, and esteem, but through pride he gets dishonor. Proverbs 11:2 says, "When pride cometh, then cometh shame...." Proverbs 18:12 also states, "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility." As Jesus taught us, the way up is down and the way down is up. The proud person always ends up not with admiration, but contempt.

Pride destroys souls. Pride ultimately destroys all that it controls. It is the road to ruin. Proverbs 15:25 says, "The Lord will destroy the house of the proud...." Also, Proverbs 16:18-19 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." The seeds of destruction are in pride. I'm telling you, pride is the road to ruin; it is filling hell.


God Gives Grace to the Humble
Let me tell you about the grace of God. "...God resisteth the proud, but gives grace unto the humble," (James 4:6). Grace is both the desire and the ability to do the will of God. The grace of God is sufficient for everyone, and no one can be saved apart from the grace of God. But, grace and pride are antithetical, and God resists the proud. It is not that God merely doesn't help the proud — God lines Himself up in battle array against them. Don't let pride escort you to hell. Humble yourself and lay your pride in the dust.