The Sin of Pride

"Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the earth."  Genesis 11:4 (excerpt from 11:1-9)

The sin of pride has been around since Adam and Eve walked in the garden.  Pride can sometimes slip up on us, blinding us of our true intentions.  According to Dictionary.com, the word "pride" means a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance,merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.  I believe that the sin of pride is one sin that can be one sin that is not premeditated in our hearts.  I believe that sometimes we become prideful and only after God convicts us of the sin do we realize how our pride has overtaken us.  Other times, like in the case of the builders of the tower of Babel, we can seek out a prideful nature, seeking a high opinion of ourselves or our own importance.  The builders of the tower of Babel allowed the foundation of the tower to be built on pride.  They had one purpose for the tower -- to build a name for themselves.
I have been reading a wonderful book called "Gods and Kings" by Lynn Austin.  In it, King Ahaz is ruling over the land with a huge sense of pride.  King Ahaz is worshipping any god that comes along that he thinks will bless him.  He even offers his eldest son to the pit of fire as a sacrifice.  King Ahaz believes his title makes him superior and pride has taken hold of his heart.  As I continue to read through this book, I see how much pride can destroy not only your own heart but can also affect the lives of the people around you.  For King Ahaz, his position of leadership and sense of entitlement gave him an inflated sense of self and the foundation of his reign was pride.
Several years ago I had the privilege of serving in a leadership position in my former church.  I fell in love with the opportunity that God had placed in my life.  I loved serving with other women and feeling like I was doing what God had called me to do.  Yet I did have a battle over pride and my own prideful spirit at that time.  You see, while I was serving in this capacity of which I loved, I sometimes found myself thinking very highly of myself and the works that I had accomplished while serving.  I started allowing other women's compliments of my service to inflate my ego.  I remember a sermon that my pastor preached on those sneaky sins such as pride.  I remember sitting in that service thinking I don't think I have any such sin my own life.  Over that week, God began a full assault of conviction to get me to recognize my own sin of pride.  While my head was being inflated with compliments and cherishing in my own mind, my heart was turning dark.  God worked that entire week to get me to acknowledge my sin and turn from it.
Sometimes we seek to make a name for ourselves.  Many times we seek to crave an inflated sense of importance and merit.  Yet in other instances, the actions we take hide the foundation of pride underneath, and we find ourselves acknowledging the prideful heart after much prayer and realization of the conviction of God.  Whatever has created a Prideful Heart in your life, I pray that you will allow God to show it to you, acknowledge its presence, and seek His forgiveness.  All praise and glory to the One who earned it!