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Is All Pride Foolish?

PROVERBS 16:18-19 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Pride and the proud are such misunderstood concepts that it is important to check with the Bible to clarify their meaning and application. We have all said or heard variations of these phrases “I am so proud of your effort today”, or “wear that uniform and play with pride” and the most confusing is something like “carry yourself with pride and honor”. Among the several negative definitions, Webster actually has a positive use for pride and “the feeling or manifesting of pride” which is the meaning of proud. God’s Word leaves no room for a positive meaning. Pride is a deadly sin. Downfall and destruction are frequently preceded by pride. Parents, coaches and players are often “mis-educated” to feel that pride is a reasonable level in the delight of one’s position or achievement. The issue with assessing what is a reasonable level then becomes the problem. Can we distinguish the line that separates reasonable from conceit? Conceit is a very dangerous component of the pride concept. The other biblical characteristics that accompany pride are haughty, selfish, boastful and arrogant. Let’s repeat the spiritual instruction--there is no positive outcome to pride.

The situation that leads to destruction is the ignorance to these facts: a) pride is the problem, and b) that pride is a weakness, so proud folks are oblivious to the impending fall. The Word is clear in revealing the sin that resulted in the banishment of Lucifer from Heaven was pride. His haughty spirit sent the most beautiful of all angels crashing down to earth. Pride is always selfish and frequently detrimental to others. Proud folk may not see the character trait as arrogant, but everyone around them sees it. The foolish pride is generally a result of something accomplished in the past. This leads to inflated egos and ultimately something we have discussed earlier--judgment. A boastful spirit will always negatively effect a relationship. It is the quickest way to destroy a friendship or divide a team. When a teammate begins to feel and also convey the attitude that their contribution is somehow bigger, better or more important, the team will always suffer. When a team seems to constantly bicker about things, look for pride’s ugly face. Many believe that all arguments can be traced to some level of pride. Humble phrases that will counteract prideful moments are “I was wrong” or “I need help”. These are things that bring teams closer and builds relationships. Pride equals harmful consequences, humility leads to honor. Please don’t use the words pride and honor as companions when they are opposites in the eyes of the Lord.

The consequences of pride are broken relationships within teams. This spirit screams “my way is best”, which conveys that another way is “whack”. The proud sometimes have problems seeing the attitude for what it is. It allows the negative spirit to divide, not strengthen, even though it has been mistakenly used as a positive attribute similar to honor. GOD HATES PRIDE!! When referencing a proud heart, the term used is abomination, or extreme disgust. The second part says something like “leads to punishment”. If you could possibly avoid the harmful consequences like shame, arguments, destruction and failures, The Lord’s punishment is a “beast”. Parents in your parenting, Coaches in you coaching, and players in your playing--shoot for honor. Begin with humility, where you are better off with the lowly, because it brings forth wisdom (Proverbs 11:2). The wisdom will allow you to take advice and instruction. A haughty spirit will not allow correction or discipline. Lastly, it is better to avoid the spoils (success or winning) of the proud because some measure of punishment may find you through association. The only healthy and positive way to show pride is in The One who makes it possible for all your successes. This selfless spirit will be upheld by honor (Proverbs 29:23).

                                                                                            Fred Tudor

Fred Tudor is a eighteen year employee of the Cincinnati Public Schools as a Health and Physical Education teacher. He has been coaching at the high school level in Greater Cincinnati since graduating from Wittenberg University in 1979. His coaching stints includes stops at his alma mater Walnut Hills High School, Hughes Center High School, and from 1990 until present coaches at Wyoming High School. His church home is Cincinnati Bibleway Church in Madisonville, Apostles James and Grace Blue Pastors.

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