7 pt 1 pride v humility

As we start this series over the sins and virtues that are captured in Christian theology as the height of righteousness and the depths of depravity, I want to remind all of us- staring with myself- that this series is not catalog of how to be better or how to make ourselves more righteous. God is not about self help, He is about saving people. And that is for all of us.

We do not have the power to save ourselves or remake ourselves by following a series of commands. If we could do that, we would not need Jesus.

The sins we discuss are what we are all capable of apart from Jesus- and He knew that and died for us anyway. And the virtues, are what He can and will remake us into- because He is reforming us into His image.

Which is why pride and humility are really good places to start.

Pride is truthfully the source of most of our sin. A desire to see ourselves as independent and powerful. When in fact, we are dependent and needy.

James 4:6 is a restatement of Proverbs 3:34. God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Which when you think about all we just talked about, makes sense. Pride keeps us from seeking out a Savior- from being dependent.

James (1) Grace for the Humble (4:6)

Pride stirs up the desires of all those who have succumbed to various temptations of the heart. Pride leads to boasting. The sin of haughtiness not only tends to boast in what it has and in its own life but even boasts in what it does not have and takes credit for someone else’s accomplishments. Arrogance totally obscures the faith that trusts in things unseen, hidden in God.

And in humility, we stop and ask for help.

James (1) Grace for the Humble (4:6)

All of James’s hearers were invited to join the ranks of the humble who trust in God. The term here for the “humble” is rooted in the condition of lowliness and poverty. Biblically, God is particularly interested in reversing the hierarchies of status in the world. This is why God has “chosen those who are poor … to be rich in faith”

But the question I always wrestle with is why does pride always seem to come back up again?

So to dive into that, let’s go to an actual example from scripture in 2 Chronicles 26:1-23.

Uzziah becomes king at an interesting time in Israel’s history. The time of the divided kingdom. Uzziah rules in Judah, which has broken away from Israel and become its own nation. His father has been killed- because God condemned him for bringing back idol worship into the nation.

Uzziah becomes king at a very young age- 16- he is entrusted with the leadership of a nation. And he starts out well.

And his name “Uzziah” is a clue to how he will see success, and what will lead to his downfall

1, 2 Chronicles (1) Introduction (26:1–5)

The name “Azariah” meant “the Lord helps,” and “Uzziah” meant “the Lord is strong.”

His name, and its synonym, indicate that success comes thru dependence- not thru his own work. That is the essence of humility. I need help and I will ask for it.

Humility is easy at certain times. We default to humility:

when a task seems too big for us

when we are overcome or defeated

when we are afraid

when we are hopeless

when we have tried everything else

It is easy to by humble when we feel inadequate.

Uzziah is inadequate. And what is amazing here is God provides for him someone to guide him.

Zechariah. (v5)

1, 2 Chronicles (1) Introduction (26:1–5)

Uzziah had a wise adviser, Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. Nothing more is known of this Zechariah. We are reminded of the faithful witness of Jehoiada to the young Joash (24:2). The key ideas of seeking the Lord and the Lord granting him success are highlighted again in this verse (see comments at 14:4; 24:20). Obedience to God was, in his view, associated with divine blessing; but disobedience, with judgment.

God meets us in our humility.

And humility leads to a teachable spirit.

Humility sets us up for apprenticeship. We can learn when we are humble.

(the overwhelming first weeks at my current job)

One of the lies the enemy will tell you about humility is that it makes you look weak. But the truth is, there is a lot of strength in humility because humble people ask for help- and there is strength in numbers!

Look at verses 6-15

Humility leads to victory.

If you go back to James 4, the verse says God gives grace to the humble.

Grace is getting what we do not deserve. In other words, it is an unearned gift.

Living in humility means everything we have is a gift. That is how we can maintain humility, by seeing what we have as a gift and not a gain.

1, 2 Chronicles (2) Uzziah’s Military Campaigns (26:6–8)

Further evidence of the blessing of God on Uzziah is success against Arab groups that dwelt in Gur and against the Meunites

Humility is opposed by pride, and pride is stoked by “earning.”

Earning is a view that we are getting what we have deserved by our own efforts.

Some people see their relationship with God this way. An investment where they are sowing and then reaping- do more for God and He does more for you.

Which makes sense in our culture and in our economy- but is completely antithetical when it comes to scripture. Being devout and doing what God says is not a recipe for “success” as it is defined by the world.

And sometimes piling success upon success is a recipe for disaster for us spiritually, so God may deny us some of what we think we have “earned” to help us to stay humble and dependent.

1, 2 Chronicles (2) Uzziah’s Military Campaigns (26:6–8)

By that time Uzziah had become very powerful. Contrast this statement with v. 16, where the remark is made that after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. These two statements mark off vv. 9–15, which deal with the internal developments in Uzziah’s day

Because if we are tending towards pride, God knows that will destroy us.

1, 2 Chronicles (3) Internal Developments (26:9–15)

As v. 16 explains, at the height of his power Uzziah was struck down by his own pride. If he had only remembered the message of his names, that he was powerful because of the Lord’s help, he would not have fallen.

And sadly, many times, those who are the most educated in the Lord, are most prone to pride. We literally don’t see it coming.

Go with me to verses 16-21.

Success leads to pride.

Uzziah trusts in his own strength.

1, 2 Chronicles (4) Pride and Downfall of Uzziah (26:16–23)

But as is often the case with strong leaders, this virtue gave way to a headstrong, I-can-do-no-wrong attitude. It was precisely his strength that blinded him to the effrontery of his action. Uzziah’s pride was expressed in usurping the role of the priest. The verb translated “was unfaithful” (maʿal) is used frequently in Chronicles (

We all- starting with me- need to be taking spiritual inventory to guard against pride.

Notice in the preceding verses who doesn’t get a mention- Zechariah. He figures less and less in Uzziah’s life the more success he has. He no longer had teachers, he had followers (v11-13)

Pride can be fueled by others. When we are seen as the authority or the successful one or the SME- when people are coming to us it can really feed the ego.

You see this a lot in all kinds of arenas- ministry, business, parenting, politics- someone has some success and people come around to feed off that success and to do that they have to continue to elevate “the leader.”

Church, we have one leader- and it is none of us. It is why God “opposes the proud” they are usurping His role intentionally or unintentionally.

This really comes thru in Uzziah’s story in verse 16- he tries to do something that is not his to do- simply because he wanted to do it.

Pride leads us to do foolish things!

Pride also does not like to be told no.

When we are examining ourselves for pride, one thing to be on the lookout for is how we react when we are told no.

If that brings out anger or complaining or gossip or some other negative reaction, ask yourself- Why?

Y’all I see this is myself in airports all the time (TSA precheck this last week)

When we fall into pride, do not be surprised if God allows you to be humbled to bring you back to Him.

Look at verses 19-21.

All of Uzziah’s power and influence are stripped away. He literally lives out his last days as an exile. Someone else is put in charge of the kingdom while he is still alive.

1, 2 Chronicles (4) Pride and Downfall of Uzziah (26:16–23)

Like King Asa (16:7–10), Uzziah was angered by the rebuke. But before he could act against Azariah and the others, his forehead erupted with a mark of God’s anger (cf.

God is serious about protecting us from pride for one other reason- it can have devastating effects on others.

God seeks to protect people under our leadership from our pride for their sake.

Ultimately, God wants our repentance. When we turn from pride- there is grace. We even see that in Uzziah’s story at his death- even though he has not ruled in years, and was a leper, he is buried with the kings.

We are never beyond God’s grace- but pride will keep us from experiencing it.

Where in your life do you battle with pride? Where is God seeking to build humility in your life?