Pride.

"Swallow your pride occasionally. It's nonfattening."

-Frank Tyger

"Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it."

-Buddy Robinson

"Pride is the mask of one's own faults."

-Hebrew Proverb

"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity."

-Frank Leahy

"Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall."

-Proverbs 16:18

God does not like pride! That's the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance. In Proverbs you can read more about God's feelings about pride:

"All who fear the Lord will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech" (Proverbs 8:13).

"The Lord despises pride; be assured the proud will be punished" (Proverbs 16:5).

"Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor" (Proverbs 18:12).

"Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor" (Proverbs 29:23).

In the New Testament, Jesus said, "For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored" (Luke 18:14b). Pride, as God sees it is man's desire to take full credit for his own life. "I did this . . . I did that . . . I am . . . I, I, I." Someone once said, "I is at the center of the word pride." Someone else said, "You can't have the word pride without I." No matter how you look at it, pride is despised by God and unhealthy and unholy for man. Man's attempt to be honored is futile as long as pride is part of his equation. Man's attempt to be honored is in total opposition to God's plan for honor. God says honor comes with humility, not pride, power, and possessions. Jesus said, " . . . the humble will be honored."

How then do we know we've stepped over the line? What do we look for when dealing with pride?

First, we must understand that pride is an attitude of the heart. In Luke 18:11-12, hear the prayer of a proud Pharisee, "The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you , God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.'" Get the picture? Seven times in this short prayer the Pharisee refers to his excessively high opinion of himself and his importance. His pride is from his heart. He believes all that stuff! It's a heart issue.

Second, pride is unforgiving and, because of that, unforgiven. ". . . and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us" (Matthew 6:12).

"The prayers of a person who ignores the law are despised" (Proverbs 28:9).

"If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18). God wants to hear and respond to the prayers of the humble. The prayer he longs to hear from the proud is, "O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner."

Pride is quick to say, "I'll never forgive you for what you've done." Because a person will not forgive, anger, bitterness, revenge, and pride have a fully-furnished home in which to reside; all paid in full by the owner of that home.

Third, pride always has to be in the spotlight. Did you notice, ". . . the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed" (Luke 18:13). While humility is always content to be behind the scenes, pride always has to be center-stage. Turn on the spotlight, here's what I'm doing for God, I am the center of attention . . . look at me! Where you find pride you find conflict because pride demands praise and if someone else is receiving the praise there will be conflict!

The message we need to grasp is, God hates pride. It was pride that made sin a reality and brought sin into this world. God hates pride so much that he will allow adversity in our lives to keep pride from becoming an issue.

I have met Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, only one time. It was a short introduction, a casual greeting, and somehow I walked away with one of his autographed books, "It's Easier To Succeed Than To Fail." He signed his signature and a Biblical reference, S. Truett Cathy, Proverbs 22:1. "Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold."

Truett Cathy has both: a good reputation and great riches. What he does not have is pride. In my short visit with Truett Cathy I knew I was standing in the presence of humility. The things that make him great are the small not-often-noticed things he does and the person he is.

He genuinely cares for other people. I have often said, "Be careful when you pray for patience because God will call you to teach sixth grade boys." Truett Cathy teaches thirteen- year-old boys in Sunday school every Sunday! He gives kids homes and godly parents, sends them to camp, provides college scholarships, provides jobs, motives students to dream, and always gives God the credit. I met in Truett Cathy an incredibly smart, creative, humble business man with a heart for God, and a passion for ministry . . . everything pride is not! I believe that is why he is so honored today.

"When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor" (James 4:10).

"God sets himself before the proud, but he shows favor to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5a).

I wonder . . . when God shows his favor to the humble if he's thinking . . .

"My pleasure."