Episode 75 - Satan's Tactics - Overcoming the Danger of Pride

All of us express pride in some way.  Sometimes this is not a harmful or bad thing.  But pride can also be harmful.  

In this episode I continue talking about how Satan uses various tactics to seperate us from God by causing us to sin.  A common way he does this is through our pride.  We must be careful to not let our focus on self come between us and God.

We will look at what pride is, the dangers of it, and how we can overcome harmful pride.

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Transcript

Hello Friends, I’m your host Dr. Dave Laton and thank you for joining me in Our Journey to Hope.

 It is my desire through this podcast to bring you information about how to discover, sustain, or perhaps regain hope.  

 I also wish for you to learn what true and lasting hope is and how it is found in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 In this episode I want to look at one of the ways Satan attacks us and tries to separate us from the hope we have in our Lord.

 This information comes from a book I wrote called, Satan’s Tactics, the War For Our Heart and Soul.  It is available through 21st Century Christian Publishers.  

 In episode 74 of this podcast, I spoke about how Satan wants to hurt God but knows he cannot directly attack Him so he uses us, God’s greatest creation.  I explained how Satan uses three ways to do this.  First he wants to prevent someone from becoming a Christian.  If that isn’t successful, then he seeks to weaken or destroy a person’s faith.  And a third, is that he seeks to weaken or destroy a person’s influence.  The second and third are often combined.

 A good question then is what he does to bring these three about.  He uses a variety of tactics.  A tactic is a more specific action to bring about the overall plan.  I’m going to look through this series of episodes at 10 ways Satan uses and how we can combat against them.

 In this episode we will look at his primary weapon that easily affects all of us.  We’ll talk about pride.  I want to look at what it is, the dangers associated with it, and how we can prevent it from damaging our relationship with God.  Let’s begin by developing an understanding of what pride is.  

 As I said, pride is one of the main tactics Satan uses against us.  In fact, if there is any sin that we all share in, this one is it. We all have some degree of pride and vanity, and Satan knows it. Pride is one of our biggest problems.

 In the original sin of Adam and Eve, Satan held out to them the promise beyond what they had experienced to that point in the Garden of Eden. When he spoke with Eve to tempt her, he said, "You will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).   This created or awakened in them a desire to become greater than what God, their Creator, wanted for them.  This appealed to their pride by taking the focus off God and onto them.  And as a result, they gave in and disobeyed God.  

 Pride continues to interfere with our relationship with God.  It has caused many to not turn to God and many to turn away from God.  It is one of the most dangerous types of sin to fall victim to. We might not even be aware of how it becomes a part our lives.  It can function in a variety of forms that seem innocent.  The danger of pride is that it causes God to be against us.  In James 4:6, the writer James states, “But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”   

 Not only does pride bring disfavor from God, it also leaves us open to the enemy’s attacks.  

 Pride basically means to have high self-esteem or conceit.  It can also mean to have delight or to be pleased due to some action, possession, or relationship.  From this we see two types of pride; one is harmful, the other not.  

 A pride that is not harmful would be an unselfish pride.  The focus should be on others, not self.  An example is the pride one feels in praise of other’s accomplishments or position.  We are proud of his or her achievements or what he or she has become.  We express helpful pride when we honestly praise other’s success.  Many of us express pride in our children and grandchildren as they have successes in their life.  We are happy to see them growing and having good experiences.  Again, the focus is not on self, rather it is on other’s success.

 Paul spoke of this is 2 Corinthians 7:1-4: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.  Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.  I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.  I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.”

 Paul provides another example in 2 Corinthians 5:12: "We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who pride themselves on a man's position and not on his heart." 

 Now, the pride we must guard against is one that we all recognize, sometimes in ourselves, but certainly in others.  

 Selfish pride is an excessive confidence or sense of glorification of self.  This type of pride is also known by other words such as arrogance, haughtiness, and conceit, all of which are opposite of Godly teachings on humility.  It inevitably leads to disregard, disrespect and disobedience to God. This is at the heart of the warning from Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”.

 Paul speaks to this concept in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

 Pride is more about “I will” or “My will” rather than “God’s will”.  A prideful person focuses on his or her own will rather than seeking to fulfill God’s will.  A prideful person also takes the attitude of one who feels he or she deserves God’s grace.  A prideful person praises him or herself before God rather than taking a humble posture.  This is the foundation for the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector taught by Jesus in Luke 18:9-14.  He states this as a warning to those who trust themselves about their righteousness.  Righteousness in this context means free from sin before God. 

 In the parable, a Pharisee stood in the temple and praised himself before God.  Remember, a pharisee is someone that others thought to be spiritually pure.  The pharisees made a great effort to follow Jewish law.  Not normally this would not be a bad thing.  But they were setting themselves up as pure while others were sinners. He says he was glad he was not like other men, even that tax collector standing in the corner.  It’s like he’s saying, “God, you are lucky to have me on your team.”  

 Then our Lord calls our attention to the attitude of the tax collector standing off by himself.  Remember, a tax collector represented Rome and were among the most despised in Jewish society.  Many of the tax collectors were in fact dishonest as they gathered more in taxes from others than what was legally due.  So Jesus describes this tax collector as not even able to look up to God but rather fells deep remorse for his sins and pleads for forgiveness.  He pleads for God to have mercy on him.

 Jesus concludes by saying the tax collector was forgiven.  Then he says everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.  

 Let’s look now at how Satan uses pride against us.

 Satan uses pride to instill vanity and arrogance in us.  Vanity and arrogance are two core elements of pride.  We like to feel important which can set us up for self-deception.  Paul warns about this as he was teaching his protege Timothy concerning selection of our spiritual leaders as an example of this.  He says, 

 “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:6-7)

 Pride also causes us to not think clearly.  Not thinking clearly impacts allows us to become ensnared by Satan. 

 Here are two examples from scripture include:  

 Acts 12:21-24 - Herod did not give God the glory for his ability to speak eloquently to the crowd when cheered as having the “voice of God”.  As a result, God struck him with worms and he died.

 2 Kings 5 - Naaman was suffering from the disease of leprosy.  When the prophet told him to dip in the river Jordan, he became angry and refused to do so.  His pride kept him from being healed.  Once he did what the prophet told him to do, he was immediately healed.  As long as his pride kept him from obeying, he continued to have leprosy.

 We must be on guard against selfish pride.  When God blesses us, give Him the glory.  Our strength and success is in God, not in ourself.

 Pride also leads us to be rebellious.   Rebellion goes hand in hand with pride.  God tells us to submit to various levels of authority, both in a spiritual sense and in our secular life.  He also tells us to submit to each other. Rebellion is the opposite of submission in that in our pride we begin to think that we know better or think we can do a better job.  Jesus teaches us we must become as children and that the greatest in the kingdom are those that serve.  Being a servant comes from a humble heart. 

 Pride leads us to judge (misjudge) others.  This comes from the view that we know better or are better than the one we are judging.  You know the verse from Matthew 7:1 where we are warned against making wrong judgments.  It isn’t that we cannot make judgments, certainly we can and do.  The judging Jesus is speaking of is being critical of one another based on our personal standard.  In our pride we tend to put ourselves forward as the standard.

 James also warns us about this.  In James 4:11 he says,  “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”  

 We understand what pride is and the dangers associated with it.  We see ways in which Satan can use pride to drive a wedge between us and God.  Now let’s look at how we can overcome pride.

Recognize pride in our lives.  We can make recognizing harmful pride as part of our prayer life.  We pray for God to help us recognize this in our attitudes and to help us remove it and teach us to be humble before Him.

 Sometimes pride can be so deep rooted that we don’t have the ability to recognize it apart from the Lord showing it to us.   David pleaded with God for this in Psalm 139:23-24.  He said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!  He also prayed in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” 

 Next, we must adopt a servant attitude.   In our efforts to accomplish God’s will, we may run the risk of considering how great our accomplishments are when compared to someone else.  Jesus dealt with this as he taught his disciples.  

 “And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-26)

 What he’s saying here is that among the lowest levels of society of the time, children and servants were the model of greatness, perhaps due to their lack of pride.  Paradoxically, it is through our service that our God given gifts come alive.

 Next, we must learn to submit to authority.   God places many levels of authority in our lives.  Submission to our employer, our parents, our spouses, and to the laws of the land are just a few of the ways to show our submission.  To rebel against the authority in our lives is to rebel against God’s ordained method of governing us (Romans 13:1-2).

 No matter what our position in life, it is our God ordained duty to submit to any authority that does not call us to sin against God.  This is the aspect of humility that we exercise by becoming obedient just as Christ did.

 In Philippians 2:8 Paul states, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” 

 Our goal as Christians is to become Christ like as we learn to live by His teachings.  We also become like Jesus as humble and submissive servants.

 Next, we must learn to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21).  We’re not submitting for self, we’re submitting out of our reverence to Christ. In the context of this passage Paul is giving excellent advice to the Ephesians (and by extension us) on wise and holy living. Then following this verse, he provides specific instructions to wives and husbands. Taken in its entirety, the focus is on looking for the best for others over self.  By the way, that’s called agape love.  It is the kind of love that puts others first.  This is the kind of love Jesus showed as he gave his life for a sacrifice for our sins. 

 Let me wrap up by saying that we’ve all seen the ugliness of pride and the damaging results in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  We must combat this, so we don’t allow Satan a way into our lives.  Combating Satan is all about stopping the attack before it even begins.  

 Friends, thank you for joining me as together we journey to hope.  I trust in some small way we have encouraged you to discover, sustain, or regain hope through this effort.   

 I invite you to contact me if you have questions or comments, or if you wish to share with me something you’ve experienced in your journey to hope.  My email is info@ourjourneytohope.com.   

 And please, share this podcast with someone whose hope is being challenged.

 I look forward to sharing more with you soon.  Again, I'm Dr. Dave Laton, and thank you for listening.  And until our next episode, remember, we give all glory to God our Father.