Pride: The Sin That Isolates the Heart
May 5, 2024 · 1:31:47 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Summary
The service opened around the Lord's table. The preacher recalled the woman who had bled for twelve years, an affliction that left her ashamed and shut out from worship. She told herself that if she could only touch the edge of Jesus' garment she would be made well, and her quiet faith drew the power of God to her, until Christ turned and said her faith had saved her. The church was urged to come to the throne of grace with one prayer, "Forgive me," trusting that the blood of Jesus cleanses every sin, and communion followed with Paul's words on the broken body and the cup of the new covenant.
The main message, drawn from a set of images the congregation was invited to name, was about pride. Pride is not merely a personality trait but a sin before God, older than humanity itself, for it first appeared in heaven when Lucifer said in his heart, "I will ascend and be like the Most High." Unlike other sins that draw people together, pride drives them apart and leaves a person alone; it divides marriages, friendships, families, and even churches. The preacher warned that success, beauty, and even God-given talents and spiritual gifts can feed pride when we claim them as our own, as King Uzziah did before he was struck with leprosy.
The remedy is humility. God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud. Like Luther, who said that the moment he cut off one head of pride another grew, we must keep cutting it down and refuse to feed or flatter it. We guard our hearts by becoming poor in spirit, by looking to the cross where Christ humbled Himself, by dying to self each day, and by handing every success and gift back to God, the only one worthy of glory.
Key Points
- Pride is a real sin before God, not just a personality quirk; it began in heaven before it ever touched the human heart.
- Unlike other sins, pride isolates - it divides marriages, friendships, families, and churches and leaves a person standing alone.
- Success, beauty, and even spiritual gifts can breed pride when we take the credit instead of returning it to God.
- King Uzziah's downfall shows where self-exaltation leads: the proud make grave mistakes and despise others.
- God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud, so the way up runs through the way down.
- Guard your heart by becoming poor in spirit, looking to the cross, and dying to self each day.
- Touch Christ in faith, as the bleeding woman did, and come to the throne of grace asking simply, "Forgive me."
Devotional
Pride grows quietly, and the moment we cut it down in one place it sprouts again in another. Take a few minutes today to ask the Lord to show you where you have quietly claimed His gifts as your own. Like the woman who reached out in faith, come to Him with empty hands and an honest heart. Lay your successes, your beauty, and your gifts back at the foot of the cross, where Christ humbled Himself for you. The grace you long for is given not to the strong, but to the lowly in spirit.
“Pride does not draw people together like other sins; it pushes them away and leaves you all alone.”
“Cut off one head of pride and another grows back. Never feed it, never flatter it.”
“God gives grace to the humble, so give Him back the glory - He alone is worthy.”
