Question 1

What is conceit?

Accepted Answer

Isaiah 10:12-14After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him—for he is proud and arrogant. He boasts, “By my own powerful arm I have done this. With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it. I have broken down the defenses of nations and carried off their treasures. I have knocked down their kings like a bull. I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs. No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.”Isaiah 47:8-11“Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure. You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other. I will never be a widow or lose my children.’ Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic. You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’ So disaster will overtake you, and you won’t be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won’t be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared.”1 Corinthians 4:7What gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?Conceited people have a false, inflated self-assessment that ignores the reality of God. They take credit where it is not due, they sit in judgment on others, they think they are in control of their destinies. Such an attitude defies God.Psalm 36:2In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.Proverbs 26:12There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.Proverbs 28:26Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.Romans 1:22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.1 Corinthians 8:2Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.Conceited people have an unrealistically high view of themselves, which is pride. Pride is a sin that leads to foolishness.

Question 2

What are the dangers of conceit?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 10:12If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.1 Timothy 3:6A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.Conceit is sin and causes vulnerability to further temptations.2 Samuel 22:28You rescue the humble, but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them.Proverbs 16:18-19Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.Isaiah 5:21What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.Isaiah 16:6We have heard about proud Moab—about its pride and arrogance and rage. But all that boasting has disappeared.God stands against the proud. Conceited people may think they are in control, but they will end up humiliated.Conceited people are all about themselves, yet their pride is vain and their glory is fleeting.

Question 3

How does God respond to conceit?

Accepted Answer

Isaiah 23:9The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility.Psalm 101:5I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.Proverbs 6:16-17There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,Luke 16:15Then he [Jesus] said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.”God despises conceit.Psalm 138:6Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.Jeremiah 9:23-24This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!”God does not have a relationship with those who are conceited.1 Corinthians 3:18-20Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.” And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”God considers conceited thoughts as worthless.2 Samuel 22:28You rescue the humble, but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them.Luke 18:9-14Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”1 Corinthians 1:27-29Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.God will humiliate those who are conceited.1 Samuel 2:3“Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions.”Proverbs 16:5The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished.Isaiah 2:12The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.Isaiah 3:16The Lord says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.”Isaiah 13:11“I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.”Jeremiah 50:31-32“See, I am your enemy, you arrogant people,” says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Your day of reckoning has arrived—the day when I will punish you. O land of arrogance, you will stumble and fall, and no one will raise you up. For I will light a fire in the cities of Babylon that will burn up everything around them.”Obadiah 1:3-4“You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully. But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord.Malachi 4:1The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.”God judges conceit and punishes those who are conceited.

Question 4

How does conceit affect relationships?

Accepted Answer

Deuteronomy 8:14“Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.”Psalm 10:2-4The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord. The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.Psalm 36:2In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.Proverbs 21:24Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance.Galatians 5:26Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.The conceited have a false view of themselves, others, events, and God, thus negatively affecting all their relationships.2 Timothy 3:1-5You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!2 Peter 2:18They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.Christians are to be very cautious about spending lots of time with conceited people.Habakkuk 2:5“Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.”Conceited people who trust in their wealth have no peace or contentment.1 Corinthians 13:4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.It is hard to be loving and conceited at the same time!Jude 1:16These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.A conceited person’s words are not to be trusted.Psalm 73:7-9These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.Conceited people are destructive to others.Psalm 101:5I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.1 Timothy 6:3-4Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.Conceit can breed jealousy, fighting, slander and evil suspicions.

Question 5

How do I keep from being conceited?

Accepted Answer

Deuteronomy 17:18-20“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way.”Psalm 31:23Love the Lord, all you godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant.You avoid becoming conceited by loving the Lord God, and regularly reading his Word. This will help you put him first and not yourself.Isaiah 10:15Can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself?”1 Corinthians 1:31Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”James 4:15-16What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.You can avoid becoming conceited by acknowledging God’s control and power in your life, which means that you don’t emphasize your own knowledge or accomplishments. Praise what God has done, not what you have done—acknowledge God’s work in your life.Proverbs 3:5-7Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.1 Timothy 6:17Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.Placing your total trust in God and acknowledging that he knows what is best for you will help you avoid becoming conceited.Romans 12:16Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!Galatians 6:3If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.Philippians 2:3Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.1 Peter 5:5-6In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.Avoiding conceit means having a humble estimation of yourself, which means that you put others first rather than trying to appear important or superior. You avoid becoming conceited by humbly You serve others and see value and beauty in their lives.