“The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11).

The words “pride” or “proud” appear in excess of 85 times throughout the scriptures. In every instance, the meaning of the words is essentially the same. The words mean “lifted up, exalted, or lofty.”  Would you agree that there is something in the DNA of all men that seeks to be lifted up and exalted?  No doubt pride takes many forms, but its desire is always the same, to exalt the creature above the Creator. In that light, can you see why God said that he hates pride?

This now is where the words of the prophet Isaiah speak powerfully against pride. Note how Isaiah worded his warnings. He said that the “haughty looks of men will be brought low” and that the “lofty pride of men will be humbled.” Friends, that’s God speaking. When God speaks against something, he means what he says; and further, it’s always for our good.

Here’s what I mean by that. God knows that at the root of all sin is pride. Pride seeks its own way instead of God’s way; pride ignores the counsel of God in favor of the counsel of men; pride places value on the wrong things; pride pursues the wrong goals; and finally, pride looks to this life for fulfillment and nowhere else. God has so much more for us than our counsel, our values, our goals, and our happiness. God knows that none of these things can bring us the inner joy and peace that come from Him alone.

But there’s more. God knows that, when left unchecked, pride can lead us into all types of sinful behavior. The end result is generally pain and loss. God wants to spare us from the painful and devastating consequences of sin fueled by pride. Take a look again at Isaiah’s words: “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low…the lofty pride of men shall be humbled…the Lord alone will be exalted.” 

In that light, let me ask you a very penetrating question. Do you want to be brought low? Do you want to be humbled by God? My answer to that is NO! When God chooses to bring us low and humble us, the pain is far more than we might have ever anticipated. Simply put, you don’t want to go there. It’s not worth it, no matter how enticing prideful actions might appear. My prayer for myself and for you is that God would keep us humble so that he does not have to humble us. There’s a difference. Would you ask God to help you identify the roots of pride in your heart? And further, would you ask him to gently remove it before he sees the need to humble you?