Why is pride considered one of the “seven deadly sins” when other things seem so much worse? - Pride - TouchPoints

Ezekiel 28:16-17“I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.”

This Scripture passage (Ezekiel 28:1-19) was spoken against the king of Tyre, describing his pride and predicting his destruction. But the metaphoric language here seems to speak of this “prince” being thrown down from a heavenly realm. For this reason, interpreters for many centuries have considered this passage a description of the fall of Lucifer (Satan) from heaven for his prideful rebellion. If selfish pride is significant enough for God to rip a pagan king from his throne, or perhaps a fallen angel from heaven, it is certainly significant enough to do grave damage to our lives.

Psalm 5:4-5O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil.

Daniel 4:37“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

Daniel 5:20“When his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.”

Pride leads to a hardness of heart that, in turn, leads to an arrogant disregard for God and sin. One way or another, pride will lead to our humiliation before God.

Psalm 10:4The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.

Romans 1:21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

Pride leads to ignoring God (because you think your way is better than his) and setting a course for a life of disobedience and destruction.

2 Timothy 3:2-4People will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. . . . 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.

Pride can destroy our relationships faster than almost anything else, because it causes us to use others, strengthening our position at their expense. Our pride makes it increasingly difficult to consider making apologies or seeking forgiveness from God or others. It isn’t long before proud people find themselves angry and alone.

Luke 18:11“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!’”

Pride blinds us to our sin, inflating a person’s sense of value and self-righteousness. Such ignorance is deadly when displayed before God.

Obadiah 1:3“You [Edom] 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.”

Those who are proud find comfort in false security, blindly depending on anything other than God for their ultimate safety.

1 Corinthians 4:6-7I [Paul] have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. For what 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?

Pride can infect our spiritual perspectives and quickly divide the church. This pride of association is difficult to see in ourselves but generates a subtle haughtiness that builds walls. Such pride is often based upon the important people we know, the team we are on, or our circle of friends.

Acts 8:30-31Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

1 Peter 5:5In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”

Pride keeps us from asking others for help. In this case, the man in the carriage had the humility to ask Philip for help. This man truly received the benefit of God’s promise to favor the humble.

Proverbs 16:5The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished.

Acts 12:22-23An angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God.

God hates pride and will judge it severely.

2 Chronicles 26:16When he [Uzziah] had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall.

An inflated sense of your past successes leads to prideful behavior and, ultimately, to judgment. Don’t let the current benefits of your relationship with God ever lead you to take God for granted.