… it is not proud
1 Corinthians 13 vs 4
Pride is an easy target, it’s self-inflation puffs it up until it is virtually unmissable. And yet perhaps it is the potent obviousness of this eight hundred pound gorilla in the room that has made us face blind to it. Or perhaps the inevitable repurposing of language over time have left us without a sense of the biblical application of the word. National pride, community pride, house proud, all conceptualizations and utilizations that present a favorable disposition toward the word. The bible on the other hand uses the word roughly 47 times (dependent on translation) and never does it surface in this positive form.
To be clear, there is no issue with language changing over time, it is in fact a fundamental certainty, but it raises an important question. Do we still have a point of reference for what the writers of the scripture were reflecting on or is the change in language a subtle attempt to remove an uncomfortable truth from our minds? We referenced this idea when we reflected on envy.
So in order to be clear about why scripture is not at all favorable toward the notion of pride let’s examine this single idea – appropriate allocation of ownership and accountability.
Pride is the result of taking joy in ones own achievements and/or possessions without circumspection. How often are we prepared in an instant to claim the glory of an achievement, even if our involvement is at best described as “partial”. Yet in a corresponding instant we foist the blame of non-achievement directly onto the shoulders of others. or worse still, God. Pride burdens us with the luxury of claiming glory where it is not owed and repudiating that which we should hold ourselves accountable for. And necessarily, while ever we are assigning glory to ourselves we are likely not assigning it to God or other people. And while ever we are not holding ourselves accountable we are not changing.
And this is why pride (even in its best form) and arrogance are kindred spirits, twins in the womb. Both suppose a world where at worst God is unnecessary, and at best He is ancillary to our success. And both suppose a world where our significance outranks all those around us. This is not love’s way.
Love’s way is to give God ALL the glory, not a percentage of the glory we deem acceptable, not a participation trophy’s worth of Glory. ALL the Glory. Love’s way is to be circumspect (well-considered). Remembering that perhaps you did cross the line first, but without God, there is no line. Circumspection keeps our relationship to others and God in good stead, it serves all. Pride serves only the one.
Let’s be circumspect church, giving God ALL the glory and keeping an appropriate sense of ownership and accountability for the lives we lead. When we do, God is at work in us and through us.
With great love
Stephen Hickson