daily bible readings

Pride can be a misunderstood thing. We are often taught in churches that pride is a sin and that pride should be avoided at all costs and at all times. While this may suffice for junior Sonday School, the biblical reality is little more complicated. 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:15, for example, “But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast.” In Gal 6:4 he says, “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.”

As such, pride in oneself is not necessarily sinful. Nor is it sinful to rejoice and even to boast in what God has done in and through us. Perhaps, in conservative denominations we have seen the sin at the polar opposite extreme of boasting. Our sin is not so much boasting but rather so humbling ourselves that we become passive, inactive and of no good use to the kingdom. Sinfully humble comments like, “Oh, I am just not good at anything and I have nothing to contribute,” or “I can’t do anything really,” or “I don’t know anything, but…” arise from a feigned humility that renders us incapable of serving in and for God’s kingdom. God has given each believer a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1 Cor 12:&) and has organised the church to be the body of Christ so that all the members (see all of 1 Cor 12) have a role to play.

Sinful pride, back at the other end of the spectrum, is an attitude of the heart that seeks to compare oneself to another and seeks to find glory and boasting in being better than others. Sinful pride seeks to lessen God and to put oneself above God so that the laws of God, while continuing to apply to others, do not apply to oneself.

Sinful pride always has consequences. Uzziah found this to be immediately true. “Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. 21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.” 2 Chronicles 26:19–21

When we are tempted by sin and our bodies are crying out for satisfaction by any means, we would do well to remember that sin and pride always have consequences Even though we often sin behind closed doors and no one is watching, we need to bear in mind this reality that sin and pride always have consequences. As Paul revealed to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:24, “The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.” Whether now or late, sin and pride will always bear fruit.

Prayer:

Adoration:

• Adore God that He loves us so much that He does not leave us alone in our sinfulness.
• Adore the Lord that He loves you so much that He has dealt with your sin at the cross of Christ and that He continues to draw you back to holiness and righteousness.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

• Thank God that the Lord disciples those whom He loves.
• Thank the Lord that Jesus has dealt with all of your sin at the cross and that you are dearly loved as a son/daughter of God.

Supplication:

• Ask the Lord to grow the youth leaders and the youth at your church in holiness and righteousness.
• Ask the Lord Almighty to be powerfully at work in the lives of the youth so that their peers can see Christ in them and so that they can draw others into Christ through repentance and faith.

Discussion Questions

1. What sin did Uzziah commit?
2. Why was the punishment or the consequence so harsh?
3. What do we learn from this incident?