Admitting sin and acknowledging that in our own strength we can do nothing to inherit eternal life is a constant stumbling block for prideful people. Pride has kept many people from accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. For those who rise up in defiance against God, there is nothing ahead but disaster (Isaiah 14:22). But Satan will be cast down to hell in the final judgment of God. He had the selfish audacity to attempt to replace God Himself as the rightful ruler of the universe. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” Satan was cast out of heaven because of pride (Isaiah 14:12-15). Proverbs 16:18-19 tells us that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Throughout Scripture we are told about the consequences of pride. The proud, on the other hand, are so blinded by their pride that they think they have no need of God or, worse, that God should accept them as they are because they deserve His acceptance. The “poor in spirit” are those who recognize their utter spiritual bankruptcy and their inability to come to God aside from His divine grace. Psalm 10:4 explains that the proud are so consumed with themselves that their thoughts are far from God: “In his pride the wicked does not seek him in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” This kind of haughty pride is the opposite of the spirit of humility that God seeks: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The kind of pride that stems from self-righteousness is sin, and God hates it because it is a hindrance to seeking Him. There is a difference between the kind of pride that God hates (Proverbs 8:13) and the kind of pride we feel about a job well done.
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