A Different Kind of Pride & Prejudice
Picture taken by Lisa Stenger
Do you think God will take away pride and give humility to those who ask Him?
“Pride is your greatest enemy; humility is your greatest friend.” John R.W. Stott
Read: Exodus 8:1-32
Exodus 8:1-4 - “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs to your country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
The Egyptians worshiped Heqet, the frog god. Heqet was depicted either as a frog-headed woman or as a frog. I find it rather humorous that God chose his first plague as frogs. These frogs were intended to make people uncomfortable. Every step they took, in every corner of Egypt, were slimy frogs. There was no place they could go to escape this infestation of frogs. When reading this scripture, I thought for a moment, is this how we make God feel when we are annoyingly prideful people? I’m sure he is disappointed when we place a sense of entitlement, “our rights,” and “our desires” above humility. We may not see it, but our foolish pride can prevent us from living out God’s purpose for us. Our pride obstructs us from noticing God’s presence.
Pharaoh’s pride prevented him from making good decisions for his people and land. God doesn’t punish his people for sin unless they persist in it. God eventually shows grace and removes the plagues in Exodus 8:30-31. “So, Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and his people; not one remained.”
Despite God’s grace, Pharaoh’s pride was in the way of recognizing God’s warnings. Pharaoh refused to consider Moses’ words, and his heart hardened, inflicting harm on his people. (v. 32). “But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.” Even threatening Pharaoh with a plague of frogs and everything else that followed, he still could not submit. (Exodus 8-12 and the Ten Plagues) I stand in awe of God when and how he used Moses to free his people despite Pharaoh’s decision.
God was there for Moses’ prayerful heart even though there were times when his self-righteousness and pride led him to take wrong actions. (Numbers 20:11-12) Learning from Pharaoh's and Moses's pride helps us examine our deceptiveness of self-righteousness and how it displays itself as unattractive pride. We must hold ourselves accountable to God’s ways and seek his course as he guards us against evil.
Proverbs 13:10: “Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.”
Be consistent in God’s word to open your hearts for his Spirit to fill it up! There won’t be any available space for pride to creep in. Your character and manner will reflect that of humility.
Pray:
Lord,
Pride has its grip on me. Help free me from this pride of mine. Remove this disgusting and ugly thing that has manifested in my life. Show me humility. What I want and desire is for my own benefit, not yours. I am sorry for being so selfish. Take my imperfections and have mercy on me. I renounce this pride and want my heart filled with your love and truth. Bless me with your grace. You deserve to be worshiped and lifted above all things. Open my heart to knowing what it is to live out your purpose for me as a humble servant. I seek your protection against evil and selfish ambition. I thank you for being a loving and forgiving God.
In Jesus name, Amen!
