A friend of mine wrote and questioned why I included, “Working together in a spirit of honesty, integrity, and pride” in my mission statement. He assumed that all pride is wrong. All human beings naturally have pride. Both adults and children have pride, but I was surprised to discover that in all 49 places in the Bible, pride is never mentioned as being a good thing. The Bible always treats pride as being bad.
Hmmm… I wrote him back and asked if he was proud of what Jesus Christ had done on the cross for him?
I am!
I’m also proud that my heavenly Father never lies, is totally righteous, loves without prejudice, created a glorious world, is honest and fair… I could go on for hours describing the tremendous pride I have in Jesus Christ my Lord and Father. I unashamedly tell you this too: I’m very proud to be a born again Christian and I’m willing to stand up and tell anyone on the face of this earth as much.
Surely pride in God and what God has done in one’s life cannot be wrong. What is wrong is to have pride in oneself apart from God and there are serious consequences for this sin. Throughout Scripture we are told about the consequences of pride. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”
Yikes! Think about the severity of that verse – Destruction!
Satan is the prime example of pride gone awry. He was created the most beautiful, powerful, and the wisest of all God’s creatures and yet he was cast out of heaven like a falling star because of pride. He wanted to be God and replace Him as the rightful ruler of the universe. But he will not achieve his foolish goal and instead will be cast into the innermost place of torment in hell where he will suffer horrific punishment despised by all creation for eternity in the final judgment of God.
In Psalms 10:4 we learn that the proud are so consumed with themselves that God has no place in their hearts or lives: “In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” God however seeks a humble spirit and humility: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. (The “poor in spirit” are those who recognize their own state of utter spiritual depravity and their need for God’s divine grace and they are thankful beyond measure for it.) The Bible states that we should seek him as a small child, completely trusting in childlike fashion. i.e. A pure love that a small child exhibits towards its mom and dad.
The proud, on the other hand, are so blinded by their pride that they think they have no need for God, or worse, that God should accept them on their terms, as they are, because they are convinced that they are good enough on their own to deserve His acceptance.
Pride has kept many people from accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. Admitting sin and acknowledging that in our own strength we can do nothing to inherit eternal life is a constant stumbling block for prideful people. We are not to boast about ourselves; if we want to brag, then we are to proclaim the glories of God. What we say about ourselves means nothing in God’s work. It is what God says about us that makes the difference.
Is there is a difference between the kind of pride that God hates and the kind of pride we feel about a job well done? In Proverbs 14:14 it states: “A good man shall be satisfied from himself.” We can find in ourselves a source of joy that is independent of the applause of others for our satisfaction. It is derived from obedience to God in an honest effort to lead a pure and holy life. Pay careful attention to your own work on Christ’s behalf, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.
In the final analysis and in simple terms our pride should be in our Lord and what He has done, is doing, and will do in the future, in our lives. Pride is a slippery slope and in my mission statement I refer to having pride, but my intent was to infer that we should be proud of what Christ is doing through us in our workplace, and not what we are doing independent of Him.
I am considering omitting it just so it does not cause confusion to others. It has always been plain to me that without God I would be nothing and I preach that at every opportunity. I give God all of the glory for what He has done in my life and for all that I have accomplished. It is summed up nicely in my life’s verse below.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!
Phil. 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.