New to the bible and wondering if Pride is a sin then how can you ever try to do well at anything because Pride will come naturally when you do?
Pride?
- Thread starter Katherine2019
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The notion of pride you're thinking of is along the lines of arrogance, self importance, etc...
For me there is a distinction between pride, such as being proud of yourself for accomplishing something vs being prideful of yourself and believing your accomplishments elevate you above others.
I have searched the scriptures to see if they had anything good to say about pride—they do not. We think God would approve of national, school or familial pride. Think about it. Pride requires us comparing or putting down someone—or something—else. We should embrace honor rather than pride. Do your best in everything you do—that is honorable.
Pride is human nature. The way I learned to deal with mine is thus: Anything good I've done, or have, is only because God allows.
Locutus,
Be nice to Didymous because he's not proud. Why his very nickname proves that. He is nicknamed after the Alexandrian Christian teacher, Didymous the Blind. He may imagine he is instead named after Didymus Thomas, but neither "Didymus" nor "Thomas" are proper names. "Thomas" is the Aramaic word for "twin" and "Didymus" is the Greek equivalent. Jesus loved to give His disciples nicknames: Simon to "Peter" or in Aramaic "Cephas," both of which mean "rock" (ironic because Peter was so wishy washy); "the thunder boys" (witty because James and John once called for a lightning strike against a Samaritan village for rejecting them); Simon the Zealot, etc. So Jesus nicknamed another of His disciples, Judas the Twin (= Thomas) and that nickname got changed by the "Greeks to "Didymus," which also means "twin." Why? To distinguish this Judas from His other 2 disciples named Judas. So that left Didymus the Blind as the only early church leader originally named Didymus. I always admire a poster who is humble enough to admit that He's spiritually blind!
Be nice to Didymous because he's not proud. Why his very nickname proves that. He is nicknamed after the Alexandrian Christian teacher, Didymous the Blind. He may imagine he is instead named after Didymus Thomas, but neither "Didymus" nor "Thomas" are proper names. "Thomas" is the Aramaic word for "twin" and "Didymus" is the Greek equivalent. Jesus loved to give His disciples nicknames: Simon to "Peter" or in Aramaic "Cephas," both of which mean "rock" (ironic because Peter was so wishy washy); "the thunder boys" (witty because James and John once called for a lightning strike against a Samaritan village for rejecting them); Simon the Zealot, etc. So Jesus nicknamed another of His disciples, Judas the Twin (= Thomas) and that nickname got changed by the "Greeks to "Didymus," which also means "twin." Why? To distinguish this Judas from His other 2 disciples named Judas. So that left Didymus the Blind as the only early church leader originally named Didymus. I always admire a poster who is humble enough to admit that He's spiritually blind!
God gives you the ability to do well, so just give Him the glory and thank Him when you do well.
An example is Jesus, people tried to call him good, but Jesus said dont call ME good, its all from my Father. He just turned the conversation back to God because God, his Father, gave him the ability to do good. He did whatever His Father told him to do...so that God gets the glory, not us.
THE GREAT SIN - PRIDE
C. S. Lewis' classic, Mere Christianity, has a chapter devoted to pride called, "The Great Sin". If you have not read Mere Christianity, it is worth your time (definitely on a Christian's top ten must read list
). You will find the answer to your OP question in it as well ~Deut
p.s. - you can also read it online for free if your prefer, here.
Katherine,
Like "agape love," "pride" eludes Christian understanding because it becomes a jargon word that blurs the vital distinction between sinful pride and healthy self-esteem, a robust self-image, and justifiable pride in personal achievement. Even frequent use of the vertical pronoun need not be an indication of the wrong kind of pride. Consider Paul's holy boasting:
"If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:4-8)."
It really depends on your top priorities and who gets the ultimate credit in your heart. If deep down, you consider your achievements "garbage" when considered apart from God's help and guidance in making you what you have become, then what others may consider pride is instead grateful celebration of God's grace.
Like "agape love," "pride" eludes Christian understanding because it becomes a jargon word that blurs the vital distinction between sinful pride and healthy self-esteem, a robust self-image, and justifiable pride in personal achievement. Even frequent use of the vertical pronoun need not be an indication of the wrong kind of pride. Consider Paul's holy boasting:
"If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:4-8)."
It really depends on your top priorities and who gets the ultimate credit in your heart. If deep down, you consider your achievements "garbage" when considered apart from God's help and guidance in making you what you have become, then what others may consider pride is instead grateful celebration of God's grace.
It is natrual for believers t have gret pride, however it is not in ourselves, rather, it is of our blessed Savior and Father.
When i do well at something it brings me joy and contentment..
It does not cause me to become puffed up with pride..
The only possibility I see in this declaration would be that it may, and only may, be aa sin for the one who does the naming.
God gave the Hebrew a language that could best express God, it is basic to all scripture. Even the NT they say is Greek was all written by men who though and knew Hebrew. So the word pride as we know it is not true biblical pride.
In scripture we are told to have what we think of as pride. We are told we are wonderfully made. When Saul became depressed, David sang to him to build him up. The best artists were called on and given divine powers to finish the Temple.
What scripture tells us is wrong is elevating ourselves so in our own mind that we can tell God how we think God should be instead of humbly listening to God with study, and submitting to His ways.
In Psalms it tells how God looks at us with blessings and favor when we do well. Being a Christian frees us of those nagging negative thoughts about ourselves that interferes with our achieving, being a Christian promotes the kind of pride that is secular pride.
Once more, when we do any work and well, we give glory, all glory, to our Mker,. If any have a problem not being proud it indicates a lack of believing the Word and doing it. It could even indicate lip service only.
John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
God has given you talents. They are your gift from Him. Without God you would have nothing. So you can have pride in your talent(s) but not before God.
I hope that makes a little sense.
How can you NOT try to do well at everything you put your effort into knowing that it is God who has given you the will and the ability to achieve what you will achieve?
Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else.