PRIDE KILLS PT 2

However, as with anything else that may start out good, there is always the danger of possible excess. What starts out as a simple and a humble type of pride can start to grow into something much more deadly if a person does not properly keep on top of it.

One of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit is the fruit of self-control. Not only will you need to use your own self-control to help keep a proper grip and lid on this quality from getting out of control in your personality – but you will also need the self-control of the Holy Spirit Himself to help you keep proper control of it, especially for those who are called by God to move into any type of leadership roles within His Body.

In the verses I will list below, you will see two key words being repeated several times. These two key words are the words “pride” or “proud,” and the word “haughty.”

Webster’s Dictionary, and several of the different Bible Dictionaries describe the negative kind of pride as follows:

• An unduly high opinion of oneself
• Exaggerated self-esteem, conceit
• Haughty behavior resulting from arrogance
• An improper and excessive self-esteem known as conceit and arrogance
• A sin of attitude and of the heart and spirit
• A puffed up and inflated ego
• Boasting and high-mindedness
• A conceited sense of one’s superiority
• Highly exalted in attitude, opposite from the virtue of humility

All you have to do is compare the two different sets of definitions of the good kind of pride versus the bad kind of pride to see what the real differences are between the two of them.

What gets some Christians into major trouble with the Lord is falling and entering into the second category mentioned above. What can start out as a humble, justified, and reasonable kind of self-respect for one’s self and one’s own efforts and accomplishments in the Lord can quickly deteriorate and descend down into the bad kind of pride where one starts to lose all sense of who they really are in the Lord.

Your humble servant

P.Miguel