The king of all sins is pride. It is the sin that made a devil out of Satan. As English author John Milton once wrote, “He would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven.” Not only was pride the devil’s problem, it is also our problem. We all face the temptation to strut around before God and to look down our noses at other people.
Pride asserts itself in two directions: toward God and toward other people. It causes us to declare our independence of God and to feel superior to others. Usually pride degenerates into slander, name-calling, and the judging of other people. Proud people are always critical of others. We somehow feel that by blowing out the other fellow’s candle we make our own shine brighter. Slander is not only a backhanded way of patting ourselves on the back, it is also a way of assuming the prerogative of God. He alone is qualified to judge men’s actions for he alone knows them fully.
The alternative to pride is humility. In James 4:6 the Bible says, “God resists the proud.” He sets himself in battle array against them. But “he gives grace to the humble.” God’s favor and richest blessings await those who will humble themselves.
Therefore, put away pride and “humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:10).