by Pastor Patrick Cho

Spiritual pride is something that all believers will want to be careful to guard against. First, this is because of how susceptible all believers are to this often subtle and always-dangerous sin. We all have a tendency to take good spiritual accomplishments and lean a little too heavily on the side taking the credit for ourselves. Perhaps it is true that there is a “little Pharisee” in each of us manifesting our own self-righteousness in various ways.

Second, the warnings in Scripture of how God treats spiritual pride should give all believers reason to be extra wary of the sin. Consider the thoughts in Proverbs alone:

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate” (Prov. 8:13).

“When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2).

“Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished” (Prov. 16:5).

The warnings throughout Scripture against pride serve as a good reminder for all Christians to put away sinful pride and work hard at humility. James points his readers back to the principles in Psalm 138:6 and Proverbs 3:34 when he writes, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Knowing how huge and mighty our God is, why would any believer want to willingly put themselves in opposition to Him?

This theme was one I thought about as I was reading through the book of James. While it is not THE major theme of the book, it is certainly A major theme. This is not surprising considering that so much of James’ material is devoted to helping believers mature in their faith. One sure hindrance to spiritual growth is pride, and so it is not surprising that pride and humility come up from time to time throughout James, whether overtly or implicitly. There are various warning signs of spiritual pride and the Book of James addresses several of them.

One clear sign is taking in spiritual instruction without putting God’s truth to practice. In his first chapter, James writes that the church is to be committed to being doers of the Word and not merely hearers (James 1:21-24). This entails removing any hindrances to spiritual growth like personal sin, and of course it means receiving the Word so that you know what to apply (v. 21). But James’ emphasis is on practicing God’s truth in love. The Apostle Paul also warned against simply focusing on the accumulation of spiritual knowledge. He reminded the church that knowledge makes one arrogant if it is not exercised in love (1 Cor. 8:1). As believers, we ought to be resolute in our commitment to apply God’s truth especially in love towards others.

Another sign of spiritual pride is the inability to control one’s tongue. This is explicit in James 3 where he writes that self-control in this area of life is a definite sign of maturity. This is consistent with the wisdom of Proverbs (cf. Prov. 10:19; 13:3). Those who are rash with their speech give away their lack of control, which is a fruit of the Spirit. This could apply in numerous ways. Perhaps you talk too much. Perhaps you tend to be the focus and point of your conversations. Perhaps you are quick to advise or give an opinion when it has not been solicited. This could be seen in those who are quick to come to judgments or to direct blame. Whatever the application, all believers should seek to master their tongue.

James really focuses on the issue of pride and humility in chapter 4. There, he blatantly states that “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). He seems to particularly zoom in on people’s tendency to be self-righteous instead of feeling the weight of their own sin and guilt. But the warnings also come with a glorious promise. Those who humble themselves before God will be exalted (James 4:10). What an amazing statement of profound grace that God would lift up the lowly. This is consistent with the way God has revealed Himself throughout Scripture. He is the lifter of our heads (Ps. 3:3).

Pride so easily creeps in the door and entangles us. Each of us tends to think more highly of ourselves than we should, and in turn we give much less honor to God for what He is accomplishing through us. Let this be a reminder to us all of our need to humble ourselves in the presence of God, and that any good in us is because of Christ who is our good. We need to constantly look at ourselves through God’s lenses, to see ourselves as He sees us. And as we walk through the Scriptures, what is repeatedly emphasized is how we are rebellious sinners desperately in need of grace and salvation, which are found in Christ. Instead of boasting in ourselves, let our boast be about the greatness of God’s grace that He poured out on us through His Son.