“It’s not you; it’s me. No, I mean that. It’s not you; it’s me. My name is CJ McKay. According to a recent survey, 55% of Americans think they are smarter than the average American. A humble 34% of citizens say they are about as smart as everyone else, while 4% say they are less intelligent than most people. Men are more likely than women (24% to 15%) to say they are much more intelligent than the average American. Not good. What does the Bible say? There’s a warning here. The Bible says we shouldn’t think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.”

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Do you find yourself thinking you’re smarter than everyone else? Or better than everyone else? Or maybe more spiritual than everyone else? Even the calmest of us can lose our cool on the roads, where we find ourselves thinking, “Am I the only driver with a brain these days?” We can get ourselves in a trap of pride when we allow ourselves to think like that. Thankfully for us, the Bible has plenty to say about pride and humility. 

Look Up

The only way we can ever defeat pride and arrogance is through the power of the Holy Spirit. By taking our eyes off our accomplishments, our good deeds, our circumstances and turning them instead to Jesus, we can put praise where it belongs- firmly on the One who has given us every good gift and is the only reason we can do anything worthwhile in the first place. 

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 3.7

You can recognize if you’re struggling with a lack of humility towards God if you find yourself ruminating on how God hasn’t given you what you’ve asked for, or if you bitterly blame Him for circumstances, yours or someone else’s. If you recognize yourself in these descriptions, stop now and ask for forgiveness. Find a few Scriptures to pray and repeat to yourself to remind you that God is for you, He has good things for you, and He knows what is best. 

Look Around

It’s been said the hardest sin to see in yourself is also the easiest sin to see in someone else…got a guess? Yep, it’s pride. We can learn a lot about the results of pride and the rewards of humility in Proverbs.

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11.2 

Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.

Proverbs 29.23

True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.

Proverbs 22.4

Monitor your thoughts. When you find yourself thinking about how you’re better at something than someone else, smarter, or better looking; or on the other hand, if you’re prone to thinking “these people are idiots!”, take a minute and think of all the good things about that person. Think of what they’re better at than you. Pray for them. Tell them what they’re good at. This is the essence of taking our thoughts captive. 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

Romans 12.2

Take some time today to think about what areas of your life you’re most prone to prideful thoughts or words. The Scriptures in this blog are only a small percentage of what the Bible has to say about pride and humility. Do you have any practical ways you guard yourself against pride? 

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God bless you. Stay hopeful!

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