Pride, Self-Respect, and Dignity
This morning Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters, many of us are thankful to be here not only for the Memorial Service, but also to watch our children in their recitals. Taking pleasure in the fact that they have studied God’s word in their Sunday school classes. Praising their efforts and yes, even perhaps taking pride in them. Many of us shy away from that word don’t we? Pride. Many of us shy away because Jesus himself has told us that pride is wrong. Pride is a sin. And yes, I do believe that it is. In all, there are approximately 100 verses in the bible whereby God warns a person against pride, against being proud. And I believe what the Bible says. Pride is sin. But we must first understand what Pride is. What is this pride that God, through scripture, speaks so lowly of? We must first define it so that we can stay away from this sin. How can we protect ourselves against it if we have no idea what it is? In the dictionaries that I have looked to, Pride is defined as... Pride; 1. The state or quality of having excessive self-esteem; conceit concerning ones talents, abilities, wealth, station, etc. 2. The act of self glorification. 3. Satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association. To indulge in pride is self-glory. Beginning with the fall of man in Genesis, pride is viewed as the root and essence of sin; According to the bible, God hates pride because pride destroys people spiritually. Read with me Psalm 10 at verse 4. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. -Psalm 10:4 The Proud do not seek Him. In all his thoughts there is no room for God. A proud person has no room for God in his thoughts. This to me is much different than what we will experience during the recitals when we see our children stand up and praise our Heavenly Father. It’s much different, not because I think my child was the best at it, or because no one is cuter than Grant, which are both true by the way, but because honoring God and remembering the sacrifice of Christ and counting the blessings before me, seeing them there, seeing Grant there, just makes me more thankful to God for the undeserved gifts I have been given. And I’m sure that you will feel the same, Brothers and Sisters....thankful, hearts swelling with love. But is this pride? Should we run from telling our children that we love them, that they are wonderful and that we approve of their efforts? God forbid! Our joy, this swelling of our hearts, is not based on our satisfaction in an achievement, possession or association of our own. This is not self glory, but glory to God! Thankfulness to God that our children are honoring Him. Those who are prideful often base their existence on selfish ambition and self-worth. Such people have an eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power which brings glory to themselves and not God. Pride, therefore, is an inward sin which leads to the falling away from God. God sends warnings to us about being filled with pride: Job 33:14-18 For God does speak--now one way, now another-- though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. Isaiah 13:11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Through pride many are lured into altered states of consciousness, whereby arrogance, self-sufficiency and selfishness have given rise to a " me" generation. One of the dangers of "building pride" is that it can generate a quest for self-esteem that can and will take a person in the direction of eventually enclosing oneself into a dream world, in which their "I" will grow as rampant and out of control as the ivy around our house. This “I above all” can destroy a person, and alienate him from God. The dictatorial "I" becomes a constant bombardment of "what's in it for me"; becoming priority over God. Self is exalted over God. The most profound teaching on pride comes from the life and words of our savior, Jesus the Christ. Jesus condemned pride in every way...racial pride, social pride and spiritual pride. Jesus urged his disciples to assume an attitude of childlike humility. His example is seen in his washing the feet of his disciples. And his response to a question in Mark 12 we read... Turn with me now to Mark 12. Mark 12 starting at verse 28 28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." We see from this passage that Jesus did not condemn an attitude of quiet self-respect and dignity. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, implying not only that we are permitted a reasonable expression of self-love, but that love for others is impossible until we experience a measure of self-respect. Life itself teaches that a proud person is too pompous and haughty to bow humbly before his maker, confess his sins and submit himself to a life of service to God. A proud person disregards the feelings and needs of others. And in that way Pride differs from Self-respect. When we look at this word, “Respect”, we also get some evil connotations, some uneasy feelings. Then we need to define that too. After all we know that God is not a respecter of persons. For we read in ... Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened [his] mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: and even: James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. and Proverbs 24:23 These [things] also [belong] to the wise. [It is] not good to have respect of persons in judgment. and again in Deuteronomy 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. But we also know that God does respect people. Exodus 2:25 states And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto [them]. And God told Moses in speaking about the people of Israel in Leviticus 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And Lastly God tells us that he will have respect for us. Psalm 138:6 states that although He is far above us, he still respects us if we can just humble ourselves. Read this one with me now. Psalm 138 at verse 6: Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. The word used in this verse to designate respect is (Ra’ah). He hath respect unto the lowly. The Strong’s number is 7200. That’s interesting to note. It is also interesting to note where else this word is used in the Bible. The first time (ra’ah) is used according to Strong’s is in Genesis. Genesis 1:4. Turn that up with me. And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. God saw the light. Saw, (Ra;ah) Strong’s 7200. And it goes on. Genesis 1:10 The dry land and the Waters. He saw (ra’ah) that they were good. Genesis 1:12 Grass and herbs and trees. He saw (ra’ah) that they were good. Genesis 1:18 The sun and the moon Genesis 1:21 Whales and fishes Genesis 1:25 Beasts, cattle and creeping things Genesis 1:31 Everything that He made. He saw (Ra’ah) them and knew that they were good. It’s funny, but my exhortations never really get to leave Genesis, do they? In all (ra’ah) is used 1314 times in the old testament and most of those translate as to see or to perceive. So we see that from these comparisons, respect or self respect is actually seeing, or perceiving. And that’s the key, Brothers and Sisters. That’s it in a nutshell. Self-respect is actually seeing and perceiving and understanding who we are and understanding that we are nothing without God in our lives. Having a degree of self-respect keeps us from having pride in ourselves. But then how can God not be a respector of persons. Quite a puzzle isn’t it? Well Brothers and sisters, again they key is in the words. The key to understanding respect in the Bible comes when we find these two words in the same passage. Look with me at Genesis 42:7 Genesis 42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph Saw (Ra’ah) his brethren and Knew them not. He knew them not. Noting that the word “knew” here is actually (nakar). (Nakar) elsewhere in the Bible is also translated as respect. Proverbs 24:23 These [things] also [belong] to the wise. [It is] not good to have respect (Nakar) of persons in judgment. (Nakar) Deuteronomy 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect (Nakar) persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. (Nakar) You know these, we read them just a little while ago. Its seems funny to me that everywhere the word (Nakar) is used and translated as respect, it actually deals with judgment of some sort. So we can, with that, construe that God has respect of persons except when it comes to judgment. Well, what is that supposed to mean. It means Brothers and Sisters, that Yes, God loves you, and yes he respects you, but when it comes time for Judgment, when we stand before Christ, there He will not know you. He will not recognize you. He will not look at what we’ve done, how hard we’ve worked, or not worked. The only thing he sees at that point is what’s in our hearts. Whether is full of pride or full of dignity. Dignity, well there’s another word we need to talk about. It’s found in the King James version only four times. And in those four places it is actually 3 different words that are translated as “Dignity” The first in Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: The word dignity here is actually s@'eth {seh-ayth'}And when we look at how this word is translated elsewhere, we see that it is a “raising up”, or “rising above”. The second word translated as Dignity is in Esther 6:3 And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. The word is actually g@dullah {ghed-ool-law'}which is translated in II Samuel 7:23 as “Great Things” And what one nation in the earth [is] like thy people, [even] like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, [from] the nations and their gods? I could go on with the others but, I think I’ve proven my point. And that point is that Pride and dignity are two different things. Never do they share the same common root words prior to translation. But, I do believe there are strong ties between these three words, Pride, Respect and Dignity. As a matter of fact they are given in Websters as antonyms for each other. Dignity as defined by Websters is Dignity: 1 : the quality or state of being worthy Although in our modern language these three words be used interchangeably at times, we must not confuse pride with dignity or self-respect. One of my favorite saying is from Ralph Waldo Emerson “Let not a man guard his dignity, but let his dignity guard him.” You see: Pride is raising one’s voice to Victory Dignity is raising one’s chin in defeat. Pride is the thought that we are deserving. Dignity knowing that we are undeserving, yet appreciating what we have. Pride is having faith in yourself . Dignity is having faith in God Pride of life is taking pleasure in life. Dignity is allowing God take pleasure in us. Pride is associated with a lust for life. It is an intense eagerness to meet an overwhelming desire or craving for power or self-recognition. Dignity is associated with being satisfied with the life we have and acknowledging our gifts from God. Pride is working hard for everything we have. Dignity is knowing that everything we have, we have because it was given to us. Pride comes from within. Dignity enters into us from God Pride will keep you from salvation . Pride is in the argument that there is nothing wrong with me. I'm basically a good person. I'm O.K. What do I need salvation from? Yet dignity is knowing that God says all have sinned, and that even our best efforts cannot gain us entry into the Kingdom. Dignity has, at it’s core, humility. And we all know how God thinks of the Humble. Christ gave one of His greatest recorded sermons on Humility. The sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew Chapter 6. "BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" When first heard by his disciples, these familiar words of Jesus sounded jolting and strange, for they greatly contrasted the expectations of the whole world (as they do today). But the poor in spirit have so emptied themselves of themselves (the PRIDE of their accomplishments and the selfishness of their desires) that the Spirit of God "has come into their emptiness". God has come into their lives; giving them meaning, direction and purpose in life.... Beginning with "Blessed are the poor in spirit", Jesus preached the values and beliefs of the Kingdom of God...... Jesus taught......blessed are those who......(verse 3)....are poor in spirit(who look to God) blessed are those who...(verse 4)...mourn (those who are sorry for their sins) blessed are those who (verse 5)....are meek blessed are those who......(verse 6)......seek after righteousness blessed are those who.....(verse 8)....are pure in heart blessed are those who.....(verse 9)....are peacemakers blessed are those who.....(verse10)....are persecuted for righteousness sake These values and beliefs are what Christ Himself preached. And who can deny that they are the exact definition of Dignity? Jesus taught we must gain power over our Pride through learning from God's word, the Bible. Only through learning from God's word can we find fulfillment, which leads to self respect and dignity. The power to humble ourselves comes only from seeing Jesus, His life and His sacrifice. Outward glory and pride are nothing compared to having peace within. In his humility Jesus was exalted above all men. And what human with more dignity have you ever known. We must believe that Jesus came and lived the perfect life and was the propitiation for our sins. And we must understand that word, Propitiation, Its not a substitution, its a sacrifice. And knowing that is dignity. Dignity isn’t just an act that comes through effort. “We’re supposed to be gracious, so lets force a smile and pretend to be friendly.” This sort of thing is as far from what God’s after as is night and day. We’re not humble because we see that’s what we should be. We’re humble because we receive a glimpse of what we’re really like. In God’s light we see light. He gives us revelation of ourselves, and we fall prostrate before Him in shame of our own vileness: Psalms 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. Unfortunately, we receive this so slowly. We see it in one area and walk humbly there, yet other strongholds of pride still remain. It seems this will continue until we die, there’s so much pride and it does so much damage. When we see our natural contemptibleness, we feel so weak and worthless. This is when we finally lean on God and allow Him live through us: Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Then His glory shines through. As we let Him live His glory instead of doing it ourselves, this is when His grace pours through us: James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. You see, the humble aren’t humble because they’re told to be, they’re humble because they’ve seen the truth. Upon seeing this, they confess their failure, and let His grace through dignity, replace their pride. As long as we hold up our defenses of natural strength, we’re fighting God. He’s resisting this and the going is tough for us. We continue to convince ourselves that we’re really quite good and worthy, but all the while we’re a stench in God’s nostrils and a burden to those around us who must put up with it. Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. As we realize how corrupt we are before God, not just in some behavior, but by basic constitution. We stand in fear of the Judge who sees and knows all. It is then we confess our natural iniquity and corruptness. Then we take each step of living in fear of our own tendencies. Those tendencies are to depart into independent, prideful and corrupt living, apart from God’s living His life through us, as we saw in Philippians 2:13. From this true wisdom and knowledge of both ourselves and God, we walk in true dignity. If we’ve received this revelation, we can’t do anything else. Do you love your walk with Christ more than you love being "right" in your own eyes? Jesus was the most "right" person who ever lived, but He was treated worse than a social outcast for much of His life. It is likely His out-of-wedlock birth was whispered about wherever He went, and the people spit in His face, ripped His beard from His skin, beat Him almost to death with whips designed to tear pieces of flesh from the bone, and then executed Him on a cross -in the manner of a common criminal. Yet, in His last few moments of life, He spoke humble words of forgiveness and supplication with no pride in who He was. Luke:23:34: Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. I guess the quest we need ask ourselves as we prepare to partake of the emblems before us is.... Are we as without pride as Jesus was? Are we working toward the dignity that he possessed?
Sol L. Gorrell 05-14-2005 Wanatah Christadelphian Ecclesia