Pride

Nobody likes to be called out for something they are doing. That is why messages about sin are not very popular. On the other hand, if you continued in your life to do something that was either causing you problems or would lead to problems, wouldn’t you want to know about it and change things?

This is what this message and the upcoming messages are about – identifying sinful habits and mindsets that are in our lives and allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us to change into the healthy Christians that Jesus wants us to be.

This morning we will begin with the problem of pride. In the OT there is a character named Absalom who seemed to have everything going for him, but his pride leads him to his destruction. His famous brother, Solomon, wrote these words:

Proverbs 16:18 NIV

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

What is Pride?

Today we often hear the term pride expressed in a positive manner. We are proud of our Astros or Aggies. We are proud to be Americans and the list goes on. There is nothing wrong with those things so where does it go wrong?

The Bible has A LOT to say about pride. One Bible scholar said this,

“A distinctive feature of biblical religion is its teaching about pride and its converse, humility; this is unparalleled in other religious and ethical systems. According to the Bible … pride is the very root and essence of sin” (RTWB, p. 176).[1]

So, what is pride? In the Bible the Hebrew word means “unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem”. Have you met the clever salesman who drives a Mercedes because of this line, “Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn’t afford?” What rises in us? Well, I’ll show them! Pride steps in to trip us up.

C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity

Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.

Pride is universal and we all struggle with it in some form. Before we move on to look at Absalom, we are faced to agree with C.S. Lewis that all of us struggle with it:

There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. […] There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. […]The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.

As I mentioned, this sermon deals with confronting the sins that we tolerate, we see that the problem of pride is universal and devastating. There is a story in the Bible about King David’s son, Absalom, and how pride destroyed his life.

Absalom’s Pride

Absalom seemed to be perfect. We used to say that he would have been on the cover of GQ, now “he never took a bad selfie”!

2 Samuel 14:25–26 NIV

In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.

The man weighed his hair! But he also seemed to be an extremely likable personality.

2 Samuel 15:1–6 NIV

In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.” Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

I said he seemed likeable – but let’s see what he is really up to.

Appearances can be deceiving

Absalom looked legit. He had the impressive entourage – a chariot, horses, and 50 guards. He set up a campaign office on the side of the road leading to the city. Absalom would intercept people heading to the king’s court. In essence, Absalom would say, “No need for King David’s court. He’s too busy for you anyway. Let me help you. You know, if only I were appointed judge in the land, then everything would be amazing! You don’t know how much you need me!”

Pride-filled people often don’t realize what they are doing. Most of the time it is subtle and begins with attraction, then they plant just a little seed of doubt about others, and, finally, comes self-promotion, “If only I were in charge”.

I’ve been in ministry for over 30 years, and I’ve seen people try to self-promote within the church. Just like Absalom they attract people, begin to plant seeds of doubt, and then begin to offer themselves as the solution to all the problems. I had a man one time tell me that God told him that he should be the assistant pastor. Of course, God hadn’t confirmed that to me. I call it the Absalom spirit – it is pride and will only bring destruction. Even Paul addressed it to the church of Corinth.

1 Corinthians 4:18–19 NIV

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

The book by Gene Edwards, A Tale of Three Kings, attempts to describe the hearts of King Saul, King David, and Absalom.

Pride Demands that Self Be Made King

We know that pride is unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem. We also know that pride tempts all of us and that it is at the root of many problems. Edwards describes Absalom as “sincere and ambitious. A contradiction, perhaps, but true, nonetheless. He probably means some of what he says. But his ambition will continue long after he discovers his inability to do the things he promises. Righting the wrongs always becomes secondary to ascent to power.”[2]

2 Samuel 15:7–12 NIV

At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’ ” The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron. Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ ” Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.

Absalom’s pride is full by this time and the conspiracy to overthrow his father, the king, was under way. The next several chapters detail the flight of the King, the humiliation of the King, and the clash of Absalom’s men and David’s.

The Devastation of Pride

What we sometimes forget is the fact that pride is devastating. In chapter 18 we see the result of Absalom’s pride:

2 Samuel 18:6–10 NIV

David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword. Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going. When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

It is interesting to see that the story ends with Absalom suspended above the ground by his famous hair. In just a couple verses Joab will put an end to Absalom. Many commentators have suggested that the term “left hanging in midair” are quite important. (They) ….suggest that this language is more than merely descriptive of Absalom’s physical position and that it carries a symbolical meaning as well. … “ ‘Between heaven and earth’ means that he has become a nowhere man. His pride, his ambition and his rebelliousness—in short, his ego—have brought him to a point where he is no longer in control. His bid for power has removed the ground from beneath his feet and led to complete impotence.”[3]

A ”nowhere man”…what a brilliant description of the results of pride. Ultimately that is where pride gets us – nowhere.

Defeating the Temptation of Pride

I know that you don’t want to be a “nowhere man”. You want to be on the VERGE of what God wants to do in your life…so realize that pride is a problem of the flesh.

Selfish ambition arises from fallen human nature

Galatians 5:19–21 NIV

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Instead we need to walk in the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to produce the things of the Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit will also correct us when we are wrong and teach us “all things”.

Selfish Ambition Results in Humiliation and Spiritual Unproductivity

This is interesting because it often seems like the Absalom’s of this world have so much to offer. But the truth is that pride results in destruction – personal and relational.

Matthew 23:12 NIV

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Pride reduces effectiveness and productivity. Listen to these verses from the NT:

Mark 4:18–19 NIV

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

James 3:14–16 NIV

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Pride chokes, makes unfruitful, creates disorder, and offers an environment for evil practices.

The Antidote for Pride is Humility

It is interesting to note that the approximate age of Absalom at his rebellion is about the same age of David as he was anointed King but running from the disgraced King Saul. David was offered several chances to kill Saul but refuses to touch the King of Israel. David was a man of humility, Absalom was a prideful man.

Philippians 2:2–4 NIV

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

(Stand) Pride is one of those sins that we’d be foolish to ignore. It reminds me of this story:

For the first time in forty-seven years, the tuna were running only thirty miles off Cape Cod. And they were biting. All you needed to catch one was a sharp hook and some bait. And the rumor was that Japanese buyers would pay $50,000 for a nice bluefin.

Many inexperienced fishermen ignored coast guard warnings and headed out to sea in small boats. What they didn’t realize was that the problem wasn’t catching the fish; it was reeling in the giant tuna and pulling it aboard.

The Christi Anne, a nineteen-foot boat, capsized while doing battle with a tuna. That same day the twenty-seven-foot boat Basic Instinct suffered the same fate, while Official Business, a twenty-eight-footer, was swamped after it hooked a six-hundred-pound tuna. Fishermen on these boats underestimated the power of the fish they were trying to catch.

That is what temptation does to us. It looks great on the surface. Only after we hook into it do we discover its strength.

—Kent Edwards, South Hamilton, Massachusetts[4]

I believe we do well to realize that pride is too big a problem to think that we can handle it on our own. We need the Spirit’s help. We need to humble ourselves.

[1]Maahs, K. H. (1979–1988). Arrogance; Arrogant; Arrogantly. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 1, p. 299). Wm. B. Eerdmans. [2] Edwards, Gene. A Tale of Three Kings. Tyndale House: Wheaton. 1980. [3]Vannoy, J. R. (2009). Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Samuel (Vol. 4, p. 375). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. [4]Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (p. 454). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Related Media

Related Sermons