Pride -- The Default Condition of the Human Heart
Pride is the place of entire dependence upon self; finding all of our ultimate value and security in self. Pride is the root of all human sin and evil.
Pride is the opposite of humility. Humility is the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all and is in all.
Pride is a demonic force or power; the most powerful force in the human psyche. It is both outside us and within us. It can only be conquered in the human heart through the redemptive power of the humility of Jesus acting in our heart through the indwelling Holy Spirit, as we live with Jesus in the Kingdom of God.
Pride derives its power from the Fall, when Adam and Eve believed the lie, “you can be like God”.
Before the Fall, there was no pride in the spiritual DNA of Adam and Eve. All of their value and security came from God.
After the Fall, their spiritual DNA was mutated. Pride – a demonic poison – was now part of their spiritual DNA. In effect, they told God, “We can find all our value and security in ourselves. God, we don’t need you anymore for those things – just for the big stuff”.
Adam and Eve were made in the image and likeness of God – that was their original spiritual DNA. Adam and Eve had three sons: Abel, Cain, and the youngest, Seth. When Seth was born, he was made in the image and likeness of Adam (Genesis 5: 3). According to Scripture, only the lineage of Seth survived the Flood. So, in this way, Adam’s DNA containing the poison and power of pride, has been passed on to those who are born into the generational lineage of Adam through Seth – which is all of us.
All who are not ‘in Christ’ remain ‘in Adam’. There are two kingdoms – just like the Rich Young Ruler and Bartimaeus in Mark 10; or two gates in Matthew 7: 13, 14 – the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world (or self). We all live in one or the other.
In pride, humans will look for value and security in the world. In general, they will take one of two paths: individualism (I will find my value and security in my own power) or collectivism (someone else – the amorphous ‘collective’ – will take care of my needs for me). Both are rooted in satanic deception; both ultimately lead to death.
When we depend upon self rather than God for our value and security, we align ourselves with things of the world (think of them as ‘doors’ or ‘gates’) – work, money, sex, beauty, power, accomplishments, possessions, knowledge, health, etc.; even family or religion. In theological terms we call this idolatry. John warns us, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5: 21). He might as well have said, “Dear children, get rid of pride”.
Why does John give us this warning – the last sentence in His letter? Because ultimately when we choose one of these doors, we place ourselves under the authority of the prince of this world – satan. And, trust me, that is not a good place to be. The reality is that none of these doors will give us our value and security. They always disappoint, and for many, lead to depression, despair, addictions, or worse.
At the core of the problem is the ‘covenant’. When we choose one of these ‘doors’, we enter a covenant with a demon that lurks behind each door. Take, for example, money.
If I choose to find all my value and security in money and turn away from my Heavenly Father, I enter into this agreement or covenant: “I (money) will totally fulfill you, but you must totally surrender to me”. If I continue to live in this covenant of bondage and align my heart with this demonic force, my life will be cursed.
And unless broken, this covenant could affect my generational lineage.
Jesus says, “Evil originates from inside a person. Coming out of a human heart are evil schemes, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, treachery, debauchery, slander, arrogance, and recklessness. All these corrupt things emerge from within us to pollute a person” (Mark 7: 22 TPT).
Pride is a demonic force in the heart; it is the wellspring of evil and the sins Jesus described in Mark 7: 22.
The only true path to value and security is in Jesus Christ – a life surrendered to Jesus, where we say to Him, “not my way, but yours”. This is the Kingdom way.
Where there is pride, there can be no faith in Christ. Where there is no faith in Christ, there can be no joy, peace, love, or the faith of Christ in me. Apart from faith, we cannot receive Kingdom life. And pride is the reason why many Christians have a veil around their hearts, blocking them from receiving all that Christ has already given them (“Christ in you, the hope of glory”).
“Jesus Christ took the place and fulfilled the destiny of man as a creature by His life of perfect humility. His humility became our salvation. His salvation became our humility . . . Without this there can be no true abiding in God’s presence or experience of His favor and the power of His Spirit; without this no abiding faith or love or joy or strength” (Murray, ‘Humility’, pg. 17).
Pride is the explanation for every spiritual defect and failure.
Jesus tells us there are two gates: the wide gate of pride or self, and the narrow gate of humility or Jesus. Enter through the narrow gate leading to life; do not enter through the broad gate leading to destruction.
“Come to God through the narrow gate, because the wide gate and broad path is the way that leads to destruction – nearly everyone chooses that crowded road! The narrow gate and the difficult way leads to eternal life – so few even find it” (Matthew 7: 13, 14 The Passion Translation).
What is the wide gate? It is the gate of self or pride. What is the narrow gate? It is Jesus – He is the gate; and through Him, it is the entrance into the Kingdom of God. It is salvation. How do I enter through that gate, Jesus, into the salvation life of His Kingdom?
“And what is God’s “living message”? It is the revelation of faith for salvation, which is the message that we preach. For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will experience salvation” (Romans 10: 9 TPT).
This is another way to say, “we are born again”. We are not born again by our own power. We do need to ‘choose’ (Jesus makes it clear – we must choose the narrow gate) and to ‘declare’, but we do not choose and declare in our power alone. We are born again by “water and the Spirit”.
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3: 5 NIV).
“For the natural realm (where pride or the self-life rules and reigns) can only give birth to things that are natural, but the spiritual realm (where Jesus rules and reigns) gives birth to supernatural life” (John 3: 6 TPT).
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself (which is deny self or pride) and take up his cross daily (which is the repentant life) and follow me” (Luke 9: 23 NIV).
“For if you choose self-sacrifice, giving up your lives for my glory, you will embark on a discovery of more and more of true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will lose what you try to keep (Luke 9: 24 TPT).
When we confess that Jesus is Lord, I am also confessing that “I am not”. This is the first step to denying, confessing, renouncing, and repenting of my pride. I am turning from “I am the Lord of my life” to “Jesus is the Lord of my life”. I have stepped down from the throne of my life and bowed down to Jesus as my King. This is true repentance. I am embarking on a journey to kill pride and birth humility.
How do I battle pride and embrace a Spirit of humility? We are born again by water and the Spirit. Jesus becomes our humility. When this happens, we are removed from the generational lineage of Adam and brought back into the generational lineage of Jesus. We are restored or ‘regenerated’ by the circumcision of our heart.
Our spirits are cleansed and perfected. But our soul, that ‘captain’ that steered the ship of our ‘old’ life, needs to be brought under control of our new spirit. That is the journey of sanctification, which depends upon repentance. Repentance, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the engine that drives sanctification – our journey toward humility and holiness. God does the work of repentance, but we have a role to play. As Augustine wrote, “Without Him, we cannot; without us, He will not”.
Come to Jesus. Ask Him to set you free from pride and give you a spirit of humility. It is a journey – the only way to life, because Jesus is the way, the truth, the life! No one comes to the Father, except through Him.
John