The Cancer of Pride

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Proverbs 16:18

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

 

Cancer is probably the most feared disease in all of creation. We fear it because we know that in most instances there is no cure and it is insidious and tenacious in its ability to wreak havoc on the human body. It causes discomfort and pain, disfigurement and distortion as well as heartache and depression. It is part of the curse on creation caused by sin. God did not create cancer; man did when he rebelled against God. The act of sin not only caused a separation in the relationship between God and mankind, it also distorted all of creation and introduced death to all aspects of our Heavenly Father’s perfect world. Cancer is a part of this. But there is a “spiritual” cancer that was also introduced to the world as well through the actions of Adam and Eve. This spiritual cancer is pride. It is present in Satan and was one of his motivations in tempting Adam and Eve to sin. Adam and Eve, once they ate of the forbidden fruit, became sinful and one of the characteristics of sin in an individual’s life is pride. Pride leads to a rebellious independence from God. The prideful individual begins to look upon others, and the world in general, as revolving around them. They feel that they are the center of the universe and pride blinds their hearts and eyes to their selfish perspective. Prideful individuals are not interested in knowing God intimately, or if they claim they are, it will be a God that they create in their own image. A person full of pride has no room for God, because pride ultimately causes the person to feel that they are god themselves and in no need of the true God.

 

Psalms 10:4

“In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

 

“Pride is the deification of self.”

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

 

Pride is a cancer. It lives within each of us whether we are a Christian or not, because it lives within our fleshly nature. When we accept Christ as our Savior we are forgiven for all our sins and pride is one of these. We are cleansed not only of the sin of pride of the past and present but of all the sinful pride we may ever exhibit in the future. This is the wonderful nature of God’s grace, that He can forgive us of past, present and future sins. But this does not mean that we do not have to deal with the sin of our lives. We are called to die daily to the sins of the flesh. While we are justified by God’s forgiveness, we are in a process of sanctification all the rest of our lives. Dealing with the cancer of pride in our sinful flesh is a task that we deal with each day. Listen to Beth Moore’s definition of pride in this quote from her book, “Praying God’s Word.” I believe she describes very well the ugly truth about pride.

 

My name is Pride.

I am a cheater.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny,

because you demand your own way.

I cheat you of contentment,

because you “deserve better than this.”

I cheat you of knowledge,

because you already know it all.

I cheat you of healing,

because you’re too full of me to forgive.

I cheat you of holiness,

because you refuse to admit when you’re wrong.

I cheat you of vision,

because you’d rather look in the mirror than out a window.

I cheat you of genuine friendship,

because nobody’s going to know the real you.

I cheat you of love,

because real romance demands sacrifice.

I cheat you of greatness in heaven,

because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth.

I cheat you of God’s glory,

because I convince you to seek your own.

My name is Pride.

I am a cheater.

You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you.

Untrue.

I’m looking to make a fool of you.

God has so much for you, I admit,

but don’t worry, if you stick with me you’ll never know.

 

Pride comes in various forms and grows to different degrees in us. Pride can be sneakily hidden by a false humility or it can run rampant in a person’s life when selfishness attempts to satisfy its voracious appetite. Just like physical cancers, the spiritual cancer of pride, if it is not addressed, will not only grow and affect all aspects of our personality and character it will cause trauma to those around us as well. Our pride will cause us to ignore the needs of others, promote verbal abuse and possibly even cause physical abuse.

 

Psalms 73:6

“Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.”

 

2 Kings 19:22

“Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!”

 

Our pride will cause us to be arrogant and we will become so enthralled with ourselves that we may actually think we are humble and that others are lucky to know us.

 

Colossians 2:18-19

“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.”

Pride blinds us to who we really are. It is similar to driving down a road at 120mph wearing a blindfold. A prideful person feels that everything and everyone needs to get out of their way because all of creation serves their needs and purposes. The blinding sin of pride not only wounds people around us, it will eventually lead to our own downfall as well.

 

Proverbs 18:12

“Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,”

 

Proverbs 29:23

“A man’s pride brings him low,”

 

Proverbs 11:2

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace,”

 

Isaiah 2:17

“The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled;”

God has a hand in the future of the prideful heart. His eyes gaze on the humble with love, but with judgment on those filled with pride.

 

Proverbs 8:13

“I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

 

Isaiah 13:11

“I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.”

 

Leviticus 26:19

“I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.”

 

Daniel 4:37

“And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”

 

1 Peter 5:5

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

 

Just because we are a Christian doesn’t mean we are immune from the cancer of pride. We can be just as prideful as the next guy or gal. The difference is we are called to a higher standard as a child of God. We also have resources available to us that can help us combat the sin of pride within us. God gives us His Holy Spirit when we accept His Son Jesus as our Savior. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, including pride, and guides us in a holy life. We have the Word of God as a spiritual guidebook as well, to help us combat the sin of cancerous pride. Our relationship with God is fostered by our prayer time and when we fellowship with other Christians in a local fellowship we are held accountable to dealing with sins such as pride. Numerous scriptures encourage and command us to behave properly as servants of God, one of which is being humble in our attitudes towards God and others.

 

Philippians 2:3-4

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:”

 

Colossians 3:12

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

 

Titus 3:2

“…slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, and show true humility toward all men.”

 

James 3:13-14

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

 

Ephesians 4:2

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

 

Our Heavenly Father assists and guides us in our desire to fight against sinful pride. He delights is us when we are humble and He will lift us up and encourage us as we seek to be humble before Him.

 

Psalms 25:9

“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”

 

Psalms 149:4

“For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.”

 

Isaiah 66:2

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

 

James 4:10

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

 

Proverbs 6:3 states, “Go and humble yourself.”

 

I would suggest we all do this before God has to resort to encouraging humility in our lives through other means.