Defeating Pride
“Do not go on boasting so very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed.” -1 Samuel 2:3
Pride is selfishness, it is putting yourself above others. Proud people are self-centered, arrogant, ungrateful, and rude towards others. Pride is at the root of all evil because it is the opposite of love. As the Holy Bible repeats, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble'' (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5, Proverbs 3:34; Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52). Humility is the key for us to combat our pride. Pride leads to selfishness, while humility leads to selflessness. Pride serves the Kingdom of Self, while humility serves the Kingdom of Heaven. Being humble is coming to the understanding that the world does not revolve around us but rather around the grace gifted to us by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
C.S. Lewis says that "Humility is not thinking less of yourself but rather thinking of yourself less." When one is humble, they have high self-esteem because they are free from the burden of trying to prove themselves to others. Pride is just insecurity manifesting in an aggressive form. While those who are humble have peace and show love and grace towards others because they are not obsessed with their own ego. When we are humble, we focus our energy not on loving ourselves but rather on loving others.
The theme of the 1st Samuel is how God exalts the humble, and humbles the proud. The narrative begins with Hannah, who is unable to have a child, going to the temple to pray to become a mother. When Eli the High Priest of Shiloh sees Hannah praying, he initially thinks she is drunk, but she was praying with all her spirit to the Lord to have her prayers answered. The Lord answers her prayer and gifts her with baby Samuel, who she later dedicates to serve the Lord as a priest. Hannah responds to becoming a mother, with a song of praise where it is all about how God opposes the proud and exalts the humble (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Samuel ends up becoming the high priest, the last of the Israelite Judges, and the first Prophet of the Kingdom of Israel. However, Samuel’s leadership was not supposed to be given to him. One of Eli’s two sons was supposed to lead after him. However, they were scoundrels, they took all the prime cuts of meat from the temple’s sacrifices to eat for themselves and they committed adultery with the women who served at the sanctuary entrance. The sons of Eli were eventually killed because of their sins and Eli’s priestly line was put to an end. God exalted the humble Samuel and humbled the proud sons of Eli.
Saul was the first king of Israel. He looked the part, being tall, strong, and handsome. However, King Saul became arrogant while in power. He disobeyed God multiple times; therefore, God humbled the proud Saul and exalted a humble shepherd boy David to be the next King. Not only did God exalt David to become the King of Israel, but he also promised that through one of his descendants God would establish an eternal kingdom that would have no end (2 Samuel 7). One thousand years later, Jesus, descendent of David, was born in Bethlehem to bring the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
The great mystery of our faith is that King Jesus reveals to us that God is humble. He tells us that the son of man did not come to serve, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus tells us that the true greatest comes by being the servant of all. The “Christ Hymn” in Philippians chapter 2 tells us:
“Tough Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledges that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We are humble because it is not by our works where we enter into the Kingdom of God, but it is rather Christ’s finished work on the cross where we can now have a relationship with God. The way in which Jesus brings about our salvation is the path of humility. Let us not only be humbled by the great love of Christ but let us also follow in his example by putting on the virtue of humility and consider others better than ourselves. When we follow Jesus humbly down that narrow path, all pride will empty from our souls.