Sin, Familiar word to every Christian, but what does God really hate? The word sin covers a lot of stuff under and not under the sun, we know other than the 10 commandments, most of the ‘rules’ are not stated in the bible, e.g. The bible didn’t say that we can’t smoke, the bible didn’t say that we cannot email pork. Bible is not about the rules and regulation, the do and don’t, is about the way of being a Christian to honor and glorify God, to see God’s perceptive.
The bible did stated how God detest prideful person, because a prideful person is someone who can see him or herself only, that will prevent the person from seeing God and acknowledge Him as the Father, the creator of heaven. The sin of Pride started as early as when the Devil who himself had fallen from his lofty position because of him trying to place himself higher than God. The fall of Adam and eve, in order for them to obtain the knowledge same level compare to compare to God. They disobey God. Time after time, kings rose and fall, because of their pride, e.g. in Isaiah 14:12-15, the fall of the king of Tyre and King of Babylon, even the great king Solomon fell because of allowing idols and disacknowledge God.
What is Antipathy? The word Antipathy in www.dictionary.com means that a strong feeling of aversion or repugnance. In Psalm 101:5, 138:6, proverbs 6:16-17, proverbs 8:13, Isaiah 2:17 and James 4:6 shows again and again that God hates the proud. No further words are necessary to express the hatred, the revulsion, the antipathy of God to pride and arrogance, to conceit and haughtiness. It is an abomination to Him.
What is pride? The Essence of Pride is broken into 4 points. It is a deification of self, which means putting yourself higher than God, just like the king Nebuchadnezzar, in the end due to his sins; it brought him down to the level of beast. Second characterized by independence of God, it was the heart of Adam’s sin that brought the fall of the whole human mankind. Third, contempt for others, it uses others to lift you up, by ‘stepping’ belittle the others or claiming other’s credit to gain glory for yourself. Last but not least, essentially competitive, it involves comparison who is better in looking, richer, cleverer, and every trait that will super cedes the other, it can be talent of an athletic skills or seeking improvement to achieve to be ‘cream of the corps’, and not for the glory of God.
What is the Manifestation of Pride? Pride can be very temperament and accommodates itself in all sort of situation. It varies from people to people. It can be of face, race, place, grace to intellect, achievement, success and skills. For example the intellectual pride, places you a superior being, because of the exposure, the knowledge and skills you have learned and gathered, placing you more intellect compare to those who doesn’t have the opportunity to do it, or does not have the capabilities to do it. Racial pride, where people link the color of skin to their superiority, their maturity and exposure to things, for e.g. People perceived that a 18 year old ‘white’ teenage kid is more mature than kids from other race, because we already, or I should say I already, have the perception that the ‘white’ kids are forced to be independence from the age of 16 years old, and they have to leave house to live independently.
Pride defiles everything that torches it, it will turn blessings into curse, it manifests in criticism, for criticism is always MADE FROM THE VANTAGE POINT of conscious superiority. Pride will find cause for criticism in everywhere and everything. It lauds itself and belittles its neighbor. Scriptures have shown how pride removes the riches from the rich and the glory from the king, the health of the strong warrior.
So how can we proof that pride took control of us? Only when we search our hearts and be truthfully to see whether we have passed the tests? The Test of precedence, will test us if others promote and not you, does it stimulates jealousy and ill will? Or are you what John the Baptist said, for “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The Test of Sincerity, is easier for you to command on yourself than others commenting on you. The Test of Criticism, do you normally justify yourself? Does it arouse hostility and resentments in us? Only humility will take criticism no matter from where it comes, and will profit by it because it knows that where there is fire, there are usually some elements of truth. The test of inferiority, we don’t think that we are inferior compare to the others, even they are better.
The cure of pride can start by changing your perception that God is the one who knows our true motives, or imagination, sin, strength and weakness, the only thing we can do is to humble ourselves in front of God, so that all grounds of pride will be demolished. It was God who gave power and wealth. Do we recognize our limitation? We can Mortification ourselves by confessing any proud thoughts that comes into our mind. Or when you felt that you are superior than the others, compare with Jesus. Plus through self-discipline and self-discovery, consistently remind ourselves that we disallow pride to live in our heart.
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