Spiritual pride is one of the most destructive attitudes a person can have. When Isaiah described the king of Babylon—who has been associated with Satan over the years—he emphasized the king’s spiritual pride and subsequent downfall.
The prideful king is mocked by the other inhabitants of the realm of the dead. In this passage from Isaiah, notice how often the king emphasizes his own will rather than submitting to God’s will.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;
I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.’
But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit” (Isaiah 14.12-15).
The “I will” of human pride directly opposes God’s almighty will.
Human pride can manifest in various ways. It may stem from a belief in the supposed privileges of race or heredity. It can arise from viewing personal achievements as entirely self-made.
It can even look to God and declare through personal behavior, “I know better how to live my life than You do.”
Spiritual pride is evident in today’s culture wars, where different Christian groups use Bible verses to support their viewpoints without genuinely listening to one another.
Paul had to burst the spiritual bubble of both Jews and Gentiles, humbling their spiritual pride so they could become effective servants of the Lord, ready to evangelize a world in need of their witness.
Humbling Human Pride
When I worked for an oil company, I had to dig a 50-foot-long trench through very hard clay. I had a lot to say to the clay, but it never once spoke back to me.
Only human pride is arrogant enough to question what the Creator is doing. Paul uses this image to confront both Gentile and Jewish pride.
You will say to me then, “Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”
But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use?
What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction;
And what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:19-24).
Dallas Willard translates the third Beatitude as “Blessed are those who have been humbled, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5.5).
Those who have been humbled enough to set aside their pride and no longer confront God inherit the blessings He has for them. Paul uses Old Testament Scriptures and his arguments throughout the book of Romans to humble both Gentiles and Jews, enabling them to receive the blessings God desires to give them.
I am guilty of many of the prideful attitudes I mentioned at the beginning of this article. I need to acknowledge that God is the potter and I am the clay, and humbly submit my life to Him, allowing Him to shape and mold me as He sees fit.
I also need to pray for the church, that we all may be humble enough to follow His guidance.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 