@Johann what does your tilde indicate in this post? As is ~not?
My experience is that it means “sort of” or “probably”. Is that what you’re doing?
Thanks
Your brother.
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” There are many other biblical warnings about the sin of pride.
But why is pride so strongly warned against? Why is pride a sin? Is it always a sin to feel proud of something you have accomplished?
It is very important to understand what precisely is the pride that God hates (Proverbs 8:13).
We’re supposed to take pride in our accomplishments — to an extent. The Bible encourages us to work hard so we’ll be satisfied with the results. It says, “The diligent man prizes his possessions” (Proverbs 12:27).
When Pride Becomes a Sin
But even this kind of pride can be a slippery slope — if we end up taking credit for what we’ve done instead of thanking God for helping us. Pride is the deadliest of all sins because it leads to all other sins. Pride is delusional, spiteful, and bitter. At its root, it declares, “I don’t want God to be God. I want to be God!”
Sinful pride is refusing to recognize God’s sovereign role in everything. “Good pride” is recognizing that apart from God, you can do nothing (John 15:5), and, therefore, giving God the glory for the things you accomplish.
In other words, anything that dethrones God from your heart is deadly. Anything that makes us sit on the throne of our hearts is definitely an issue.
It was the sin of pride, which first led Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis, we read,
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband who was with her and ate it (Genesis 3:4-6).
Who do you think the serpent really was? It was the enemy himself, Satan. In fact, pride led to his downfall too. Pride transformed Lucifer, an anointed cherub of God, the very “seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty,” into Satan, the devil, the father of lies, the one for whom Hell itself was created. (Isaiah 14:12-15; John 8:44; Matthew 25:41)
Despite the fact that God had created Satan and gave him all of the power and beauty he possessed, Satan wanted all of the glory. He turned into the enemy of God when he chose not to worship God in response to the gifts he was given.
Instead, he wanted all of God’s power, glory, and the throne. He viewed himself as better than God instead of choosing to embrace his reflection of God himself.
Pride in the Bible
In the Book of Matthew, we see an example of pride in the Pharisees. They were self-righteous (Matthew 6:1-2). Jesus tells them, “You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity” (Matthew 23:27). Their goal was to impress others with external materials and performance.
The main reason why each of us is on this earth is that our mission is to reflect God in all that we say and do. It is our goal to be image-bearers of Christ! But this is what pride does, it sets you before a very haughty fall.
1 Corinthians 4:7 summarizes this nicely: “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” St. Mariam Baouardy describes pride this way:
The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water: it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire: it dries up, it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat thrown into the earth: it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies; but to revive in heaven.
Everything we have, we have received from God. Therefore, we should not act as if we have accomplished anything on our own. It is not wrong to feel good about something you have accomplished as long as you recognize, and admit, that you could not have done so without him.
We need to make it a goal to live for Christ every day. The Bible says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
We would do well to check our spirits when it comes to pride. While God opposes the proud, he gives immense grace to the humble. Humility comes when we internalize the truth that nothing in the life of a Christian is to be about us.
It is all about Jesus Christ and Him only. Here are four reminders to help you eliminate pride:
1. But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
2. Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud (Proverbs 16:18-19).
3. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11).
4. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may lift you up at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you (1 Peter 5:5-7).
1 Like
Funny, someone accused me of this very thing, pride, in a “private conversation” @Brakes today.
Pride
Is sin
Pro_21:4;
Hateful to God
Pro_6:16; Pro_6:17; Pro_16:5;
Hateful to Christ
Pro_8:12; Pro_8:13;
OFTEN ORIGINATES IN
Self-righteousness
Luk_18:11; Luk_18:12;
Religious privileges
Zep_3:11;
Unsanctified knowledge
1Co_8:1;
Inexperience
1Ti_3:6;
Possession of power
Lev_26:19; Ezk_30:6;
Possession of wealth
2Ki_20:13;
Forbidden
1Sa_2:3; Rom_12:3; Rom_12:16;
Defiles a man
Mrk_7:20; Mrk_7:22;
Hardens the mind
Dan_5:20;
SAINTS
give not away
Psa_131:1;
Respect not, in others
Psa_40:4;
Mourn over, in others
Jer_13:17;
Hate, in others
Psa_101:5;
A hindrance to seeking God
Psa_10:4; Hos_7:10;
A hindrance to improvement
Pro_26:12;
A CHARACTERISTIC
The devil
1Ti_3:6;
The world
1Jn_2:16;
False teachers
1Ti_6:3; 1Ti_6:4;
The wicked
Hab_2:4; Hab_2:5; Rom_1:30;
Comes from the heart
Mrk_7:21-23;
The wicked encompassed with
Psa_73:6;
LEADS MEN TO
Contempt and rejection of God’s word and ministers
Jer_43:2;
A persecuting spirit
Psa_10:2;
Wrath
Pro_21:24;
Contention
Pro_13:10; Pro_28:25;
Self-deception
Jer_49:16; Oba_1:3;
Exhortation against
Jer_13:15;
IS FOLLOWED BY
Shame
Pro_11:2;
Debasement
Pro_29:23; Isa_28:3;
Destruction
Pro_16:18; Pro_18:12;
Shall abound in the last days
2Ti_3:2;
Woe to
Isa_28:1; Isa_28:3;
THEY WHO ARE GUILTY OF, SHALL BE
Resisted
Jas_4:6;
Brought into contempt
Isa_23:9;
Recompensed
Psa_31:23;
Marred
Jer_13:9;
Subdued
Exo_18:11; Isa_13:11;
Brought low
Psa_18:27; Isa_2:12;
Abased
Dan_4:37; Mat_23:12;
Scattered
Luk_1:51;
Punished
Zep_2:10; Zep_2:11; Mal_4:1;
Exemplified
Ahithophel
2Sa_17:23;
Hezekiah
2Ch_32:25;
Pharaoh
Neh_9:10;
Haman
Est_3:5;
Moab
Isa_16:6;
Tyre
Isa_23:9;
Israel
Isa_28:1; Hos_5:5; Hos_5:9;
Judah
Jer_13:9;
Babylon
Jer_50:29; Jer_50:32;
Assyria
Ezk_31:3; Ezk_31:10;
Nebuchadnezzar
Dan_4:30; Dan_5:20;
Belshazzar
Dan_5:22; Dan_5:23;
Edom
Oba_1:3;
Scribes
Mrk_12:38; Mrk_12:39;
Herod
Act_12:21-23;
Laodiceans
Rev_3:17;
Apples and oranges, 5 wise, 5 foolish.
J.
I’ve really been standing back and watching this. Here is my take on “Pride.” One of the attributes is Singleness. As a noun, aloneness. synonyms? Detachment, emptiness, isolation, loneliness, lonesomeness, quarantine, reclusiveness, seclusion, separateness, solitariness, wilderness, withdrawal.
All the way back in the beginning, God JUST created man. He said this.
“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Genesis 2:18
It is NOT GOOD for Man to be alone. Why? Detachment, emptiness, isolation, loneliness, lonesomeness, quarantine, reclusiveness, seclusion, separateness, solitariness, wilderness, withdrawal.
Pride tells us we are the best. Pride tells us that we need no one else to do whatever it is. Pride tells us that we need to answer to no one. Now, this last one is important. We need to answer to no one.
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” Isaiah14:12-15
So why did Lucifer, “The Son of the Morning,” the fairest of all the Angels, God’s first Creation, fall so far and so hard? Pride told him that he did not need God, that he was a god. That he was as smart as and as important as God Himself. He “said in thine heart,” “I will be like the Most High.”
Adam and Eve fell for the same thing. The devil tempted Jesus with the same thing. The Idol of Self is all about Pride. Next big influencer with many “followers.” You get the point. Whole sinful movements have adopted “Pride.” Now, what about confidence, or self-respect? Is that pride and also sinful? I do not believe it is.
“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 1 Timothy 5:17-18
“Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” Galatians 6:6
Should we take “Pride in” or be proud of our works? Of course. We just need to be wary of a false Pride where we begin to think too highly of ourselves. It can indeed be a fine line.
Peter
2 Likes
One of the many paradoxes and dialetical pairs we find in Scripture Peter.
Luk 18:9 He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous [that they were upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of all the rest of men:
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men–extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers–or even like this tax collector here.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain.
Luk 18:13 But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Great exposition.
J.
2 Likes
Although Johann keeps insisting that the Bible never says we should be proud of ourselves, and that is plainly false. I still appreciate your input.
Fine line, but obvious. And we can cross back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back…(keep going). What’s the fine (obvious) line? The Bible tells us, it’s who or what are we comparing ourselves to?. That’s the question.
2 Cor 10 says: “12. We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.”
Paul seems to be comparing his work to God’s will for his life, and the fruit that is being produced by His Spirit, through Paul’s faithful obedience.
When the disciples were arguing with each other about who was the greatest, they were obviously comparing themselves to each other, measuring themselves by themselves, comparing themselves with themselves. Which is the greatest? Jesus re-directed their focus to the actual criteria. Who are you serving? Where is your genuine humility, mixed with fierce courage? What does God say about your work? Not what do you say in your off-limits boasting.
And why is this such a big deal to all of us humans? My belief is that God created us with a fundamental constituent, and impulse to struggle for greatness. Every human has it. Why would God do that, since it seems to be the source of so much trouble?
Your brother
If you want to boast, boast, nobody here is stopping you.
However…
Pauline theology contains explicit warnings concerning the possibility of being found wanting, unapproved, or lacking at the time of final evaluation, and these warnings function not as denials of grace but as essential exhortations toward perseverance and faithfulness.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, Paul emphasizes personal discipline and self-control, warning that even he could become ἀδόκιμος (disqualified) if he failed to persevere, thereby establishing ongoing vigilance as a necessary component of faithful ministry.
This concern is extended to the believing community in 2 Corinthians 13:5, where believers are commanded to examine themselves to determine whether they are truly in the faith, with the warning that failure under such testing results in being ἀδόκιμοι, that is, found unapproved.
2Co 13:5 Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you–unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?
2Co 13:6 But I hope you will recognize and know that we are not disapproved on trial and rejected.
2Co 13:7 But I pray to God that you may do nothing wrong, not in order that we [our teaching] may appear to be approved, but that you may continue doing right, [though] we may seem to have failed and be unapproved.
Then there’s a further warning against presumption appears in Romans 11:20–22, where Paul reminds Gentile believers that standing by faith does not eliminate the need for humility and perseverance, since continuance in God’s kindness is required to avoid being cut off.
Rom 11:20 That is true. But they were broken (pruned) off because of their unbelief (their lack of real faith), and you are established through faith [because you do believe]. So do not become proud and conceited, but rather stand in awe and be reverently afraid.
Rom 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches [because of unbelief], neither will He spare you [if you are guilty of the same offense].
Rom 11:22 Then note and appreciate the gracious kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s gracious kindness to you–provided you continue in His grace and abide in His kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off (pruned away).
In Philippians 2:12–16, believers are exhorted to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, linking steadfast obedience to the assurance that apostolic labor will not be shown to be in vain at the day of Christ.
Php 2:12 Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).
Php 2:13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.
Similarly, Colossians 1:22–23 presents final presentation as holy and blameless as conditional upon continuing grounded and steadfast in the faith, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.
The evaluative testing of believers’ works is further described in 1 Corinthians 3:12–15, where endurance through divine testing determines reward, even though salvation itself may remain intact.
So then, collectively, these Pauline texts affirm that perseverance, self-examination, and continued faithfulness are integral to the Christian life, serving as sober reminders that believers are called to live in light of final accountability before Christ.
My response to your “And why is this such a big deal to all of us humans?”
It’s a big deal to me, personally.
J.
Yeah I’m not a big fan of the boasting part. I know Paul says that he boasts, and I understand that there is a righteous boasting.
I’m more likely to follow Solomon’s advice in Proverbs 27:
- Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring. - Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
an outsider, and not your own lips.
Seems to me that taking pride within yourself that you know God’s word, you believe and trust Him, and you are actively sacrificing for the benefit of the least of His, is enough to have the satisfaction of doing your Spiritual job well. Take pride in it internally - we know it isn’t easy. I don’t feel the need to boast about it at all.
About it being a big deal - I don’t think you understood my meaning. Perhaps I wasn’t clear.
Being prone to being prideful is a ubiquitous human characteristic. Many attribute “pride” as the sin that Eve fell for in the garden, although I disagree. We know it was Satan’s sin.
Again, I am attempting to account for whatever it was in mankind that God created (very good) that ended up producing our tendency to be prideful. It is a big deal, not just for you, but for everybody.
Do you ever ask yourself why you have such a tendency to be prideful? As we all do? If you attribute it to some mysterious “fallen nature”, does it make sense that God would create us with an internal booby trap that springs on human kind once Adam and Eve sin? I don’t think that’s what happened myself.
Your brother
I think the question you are raising is both legitimate and necessary, and Scripture actually gives us the tools to think about it without resorting to the idea that God built a defect into humanity that later malfunctioned.
Correct?
If we begin with creation, Genesis 1:31 states that God saw everything He had made and declared it טוֹב מְאֹד ~ ṭôv meʾōd, “very good,” a qualitative judgment that includes human capacities such as self-awareness, agency, dominion, and moral responsibility, none of which are portrayed as latent evils or moral traps.
Humanity is described in Genesis 1:26–28 as created בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים ~ bəṣelem ʾĕlōhîm, in the image of God, and entrusted with rule (רָדָה ~ rādâ), a verb denoting stewardship and governance, not autonomous self-exaltation, which suggests that authority itself was good but derivative.
When we turn to the fall narrative in Genesis 3, the language is important, because Eve’s act is not described using words associated with pride such as גָּאָה ~ gāʾâ (to exalt oneself), but rather with perception and desire, as she “saw” (וַתֵּרֶא ~ wattēreʾ) that the tree was desirable to make one wise, and she “took” (וַתִּקַּח ~ wattikkaḥ), verbs that emphasize grasping rather than self-glorification.
The serpent’s temptation focuses on autonomy rather than arrogance, promising “you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” where “like” (כֵּאלֹהִים ~ kēʾlōhîm) implies independence of moral reference, not an immediate claim to superiority.
By contrast, when Scripture speaks explicitly of pride as sin, it most often uses Hebrew terms such as גָּאָה ~ gāʾâ (to rise up), זָדוֹן ~ zādôn (arrogance), and רוּם לֵבָב ~ rûm lēvāv (a lifted heart), as seen in texts like Proverbs 16:18 and Isaiah 2:11, where pride is defined as self-exaltation in opposition to God rather than mere self-awareness.
This distinction helps explain why pride is more directly associated with Satan in passages like Isaiah 14:13–15 and Ezekiel 28:17, where the verbs emphasize ascent, lifting, and self-enthronement, making pride not simply disobedience but the refusal to remain a creature.
When we move into the New Testament, Paul does not describe sin as a hidden mechanism implanted by God, but as a power that enters and distorts human faculties, using relational and directional language rather than mechanical imagery.
In Romans 1:21, humanity’s failure is described with the verb ἐματαιώθησαν ~ emataiōthēsan (they became futile), a passive aorist indicating corruption of reasoning after refusing to honor God, followed by hearts being darkened, showing sequence rather than design flaw.
Paul’s key term for pride-like boasting is καύχησις ~ kauchēsis and the verb καυχάομαι ~ kauchaomai, which he consistently redirects away from the self toward God, as in 1 Corinthians 1:31, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord,” indicating that the issue is not boasting itself but its object.
What Paul calls “flesh” (σάρξ ~ sarx) is not the body or a created defect, but the human self oriented inward and operating independently of God, as seen in Galatians 5:16–17, where the conflict is relational and directional rather than structural.
This aligns with Augustine’s later description of sin as incurvatus in se, the self curved inward, which mirrors Paul’s thought without implying that God created a corrupted nature.
So when Scripture speaks of a “fallen nature,” it is not describing an internal booby trap implanted by God, but a relational rupture that reorients human desire, trust, and self-understanding, allowing good capacities to be misdirected.
That is why pride feels universal and persistent, and why it often attaches itself to genuinely good things, including obedience, knowledge, and sacrifice, as warned in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive?” a rhetorical question aimed precisely at dismantling self-originated pride.
In this light, pride is best understood not as something God created, but as what happens when a created good loses its reference point, when the self no longer receives its meaning from God but attempts to generate it independently.
That, I think, preserves both the goodness of creation and the seriousness of human pride, without attributing moral sabotage to God or reducing sin to a vague abstraction.
My 2 cents @Pater15
J.
Well thank you for your 2 cents sir, ha ha and here’s some change!
Right off we have a misunderstanding, and it’s critically key. In fact, you are making my point with the majority of your comprehensive answer.
GOD DID NOT CREATE THE DEFECT! NO DEFECT! NO TRAP TO SPRING!
That’s my whole point sir! And the whole point of my years long effort to find some answers!
WHAT GOD CREATED WAS VERY GOOD IN EVERY WAY!
And why did God create humankind with these fundamental characteristics? Because He wanted a family with all the maximal capacities for reciprocal LOVE that we can share -
WITH HIM FOREVER!!!
FOR HIS GLORY!!!
I promise I’m not yelling at you - I am shouting from the rooftops with tears in my eyes, praising His HOLY name with all the might I can muster!! What a magnificent God we serve! What a magnificent plan He has brought into existence! There is no one like our God! His wisdom and love are beyond our comprehension!
May His name be glorified forever - every mouth that has breath -may it praise Jesus to the Heavens forever!!
Thank you my brother - I love you and I thank God for you! We all have wonderful fellowship ahead of us - that just fills me with joy to look forward to all of us enjoying sweet fellowship with our Lord!!
Oh man - that is good!
Your brother
I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding; rather, I concur with your “Eureka”-your spontaneous declaration in praise of our most Holy YHWH, Yeshua, our great God and Savior, and the abiding presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Love this brother.
Peace to you and family.
J.
Yes, so let’s give this “reference point” a name - it’s our belief in God.
Every Christian knows by heart that we are saved through faith in Jesus, and not by our works. We believe that He is God’s son, and that His work on the cross of Calvary cancels our need to work for our salvation. We believe that His sacrifice accrues to our freedom, our relationship with God, our eternal life.
Collectively, we are called “believers” for a reason. It’s what defines and unifies us. It’s what was lost in the garden. Adam and Eve became unbelievers. They failed to hold onto the truth that God had told them, but instead believed a lie.
God didn’t create the misdirected pride as you say, but He did give us that potential for positive feelings of accomplishment when we BELIEVE every word, put them into action against terrible odds, and bravely stand firm. The Bible teaches that we should take pride in ourselves when we do that, not comparing ourselves to others, but enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done.
Hopefully we can all see the connectivity of common thread - every potential human good relies entirely on our steadfast belief in every word that flows from God. And our magnificent God certainly would create human kind with all the fundamental characteristics to enable us to glorify Him in fact.
So if I say, “humans always believe what they choose to believe”, or “humans always do what they believe is in their best interest at the moment”, or “humans have a built-in drive for greatness” (this one is where pride comes from), we can see that each relies on our belief in God for it’s Holy expression.
Is it any wonder that when we fail to believe, God would make the consequences catastrophic? His intent is that we would firmly hold to our beliefs, seeing the destruction entailed by not holding to our beliefs.
I’m late for an obligation. Peace and love to all.
Your brother
Brother,
Paul is not teaching self-exaltation here — he is correcting two opposite fleshly errors at the same time: pride by comparison and false humility that refuses responsibility.
In Galatians 6, the whole context is about walking in the Spirit, restoring one another gently, and each believer carrying their own God-given responsibility before the Lord. When Paul says, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself,” he is crushing human arrogance. No one stands righteous by their own merit. Everything we are is by grace.
But then Paul immediately says, “Let every man prove (test/examine) his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing (boasting/pride) in himself alone, and not in another.”
The Greek word Paul uses for “rejoicing” (or “pride”) is kauchēma, which means a confidence or satisfaction based on something tested and found genuine — not bragging, not superiority, but a settled assurance before God.
In other words, Paul is saying:
Don’t measure yourself against other people to feel spiritual.
Measure yourself before God.
When a believer examines their life in the light of Christ and sees the fruit of obedience, growth, repentance, and faith produced by the Spirit, there is a godly confidence — not in self, but in what God has done in them.
It’s the same idea Paul expresses elsewhere:
“By the grace of God I am what I am… yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Cor 15:10)
So the “pride” here is not ego.
It is responsible faithfulness before God without comparison.
Paul is closing the door on two traps:
• Looking down on others to feel spiritual
• Hiding behind humility while refusing to live accountable
Each believer will answer to God personally. Each must walk out their calling. Each must bear their own load before the Lord.
And this actually connects to your point about why we’re on the earth.
God didn’t create us to compete spiritually.
He created us to walk in obedience, reflect Christ, and steward what He entrusted to us.
When a man or woman stands before God with a life tested by the Word and the Spirit, there is a quiet confidence — not boasting in flesh, but rejoicing in God’s transforming work.
So Paul is not promoting self-pride.
He is promoting personal responsibility in the Spirit without comparison in the flesh.
Humility before God. Faithfulness in life. No spiritual scorekeeping.
That balance is where maturity lives.
Grace and peace, brother
Alright brother, a couple things. I do agree with about 90% of your post. But this -
- is simply not true. I checked a number of lexicons, which all agreed with each other, in their disagreement with what you wrote.
Kauchema:
- that of which one glories or can glory, matter or ground of glorying
- a glorying or boasting
So it doesn’t say anything about confidence or satisfaction. Those are different words. I can’t help but wonder why you would offer a false definition of the word? You might disagree with it, or feel it needs balance. That’s fine. But a false definition? Hmmmm.
And then there is this:
Technically, the “ego” and pride are tangentially related, but not the same. Technically. You’re using “ego” in colloquial form, which is fine, and I normally wouldn’t mention it, except that your typical approach to language is uberly-technical. Since it’s your post, we’ll play by your rules.
“Responsible faithfulness before God without comparison”, is what we should be DOING. It doesn’t address how we should feel about what we are doing. It comes under the heading of doing good works, and examining our own works in comparison to God’s law of love, or in comparison to our own other possible choices. But you’ve equivocated when it comes to naming how we should feel about our own good decisions and our own good works.
Paul tells us how we should feel about ourselves when we make good decisions about what we are going to do, and then follow through on those good decisions by actually doing the good works that we’ve decided to do. It’s clear, and we agree, that we are not to base our assessments on comparisons to other people, but rather comparing to God’s standard, and comparing to what we could have done differently instead. He says we should be proud of ourselves, without comparison to others.
I’m sure we would agree that when God created people, He created them “very good”. In our efforts to discern the truth in all things, we are tasked with reconciling what God created, with what we are.
And I think this is where we differ. I can see where it’s a good thing that God created within us the ability to righteously feel proud of ourselves when we believe every Word that proceeds from Himself, His Son, His Spirit, His word. And the fact that we do believe, compels our behavior. Our good behavior, in turn, glorifies God. And He says we can be proud of our part in giving God that glory.
He leaves it up to us to decide what we are going to do. He calls us to very difficult works, not the least of which is simply submission to His will. And He gives us grace, strength, courage, guidance - everything we need to live Godly in Christ Jesus. But He doesn’t compel us, or determine us by force or by coercion. It’s our decisions, and our works.
It seems that maybe you think that any and all pride is an evil result of “the fall”? Part of the “sinful nature”? I think it’s not that complicated. Because it’s a very essential part of being human. It helps us to push past the mundane, and reach for the greatness that each of us yearns for.
Can it be perverted? Of course. An example might be our intimate lives, which is supposed to be shared only with our spouse, and is so wonderful, and yet so easily perverted. So easily perverted, in fact, that we cringe a little at the idea of the marriage metaphors in the scripture. Christ is the husband of the church, and as His bride, we look forward to the marriage supper of the lamb, when the consummation of the marriage takes place. We come together in full, intimate knowledge.
Some traditions have decided that all sexual relationships are evil. We can speculate as to why they did that, but I see similarities to our present discussion. Godly passion turns to sinful lust in a mere moment. There is so much perversion - best to just call all of it sin. Right?
Every good thing that God put in us can be turned to evil. But that shouldn’t mean that we should reject any of those good things. That’s my conviction, because that’s what the Bible says.
As I said, I agree with about 90% of what you said, and you said it quite well. (You should be proud)
Love,
Your brother
(I mean that)
The main place where your response goes off track is in equating Paul’s kauchēma with an internal feeling of being “proud of ourselves.”
In Galatians 6:4, Paul is not primarily addressing an emotional state of self-satisfaction. He is addressing the basis or ground of rejoicing — what one may legitimately point to before God once a work has been tested without comparison to others.
As the lexicons make clear, kauchēma is not defined as a subjective feeling of pride, but as:
BDAG: “a ground or basis for confidence or boasting.”
Thayer: “that of which one glories — the matter or cause of glorying.”
HELPS: “a legitimate reason or basis for rejoicing.”
That is an objective ground, not an inward ego experience.
Paul’s emphasis in the passage is on evaluation, not emotion:
“Let every man prove (test, examine) his own work, and then shall he have kauchēma…”
The rejoicing flows from work being examined and found genuine — not from cultivating a feeling of pride in oneself.
The second inaccuracy is the suggestion that I view all pride as inherently evil or merely a product of the fall.
Scripture already distinguishes between:
• sinful boasting in self (fleshly pride)
• rightful rejoicing in what God has done and approved
Paul regularly speaks positively of kauchēma, but it is consistently grounded in God’s work, God’s grace, and God’s approval — not in self as an autonomous source.
For example:
“He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:31)
Even when Paul speaks of rejoicing in labor, it is always tied to what Christ has accomplished through obedience — never self-generated virtue.
So the correction is this:
Paul is not teaching an inner emotional self-pride as a virtue.
He is teaching a legitimate ground of rejoicing before God that comes from faithful obedience being tested and approved — without comparison to others.
That keeps the glory anchored in God’s work while still acknowledging responsibility and faithfulness.
Everything else you said about human responsibility, decision-making, and the possibility of perversion isn’t really in dispute.
The only real adjustment needed is not to turn kauchēma into a psychological feeling of self-esteem, but to keep it where Paul keeps it — as an objective ground of rejoicing rooted in God’s standard and God’s approval.
The Bible actually treats “pride” in two different ways—one that is condemned, and one that is affirmed (though our English translations often blur the distinction).
On one hand, Scripture consistently warns against self-exalting pride—the kind that places confidence in oneself apart from God, compares itself to others, or seeks glory. Verses like Proverbs 16:18 (“Pride goeth before destruction…”) and James 4:6 (“God resisteth the proud…”) are addressing arrogance, self-sufficiency, and boasting that pushes God out of the center.
But on the other hand, the Bible also speaks of a form of godly rejoicing or satisfaction in faithful obedience and good stewardship. Paul uses the Greek word kauchēma (often translated “boast” or “rejoicing”) in places like Galatians 6:4:
“But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
Here Paul isn’t encouraging ego or comparison. He’s saying there is a legitimate joy and confidence that comes from walking faithfully before God—examining your life honestly and finding that by God’s grace you have obeyed Him. It’s not pride that says, “Look how great I am,” but a humble satisfaction that says, “By God’s help, I did what was right.”
Even Paul himself said:
“Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity… we have had our conversation in the world” (2 Corinthians 1:12).
So the Bible doesn’t teach self-glorification—but it does allow for a healthy, God-centered confidence and joy in faithful living.
In short:
• We are never to be proud in a way that exalts self above God
• But we can have joy, confidence, and a clear conscience when we walk in obedience
The difference is the source and direction:
Sinful pride points inward and upward at self
Godly rejoicing points upward to God’s grace working in us
Any “pride” that forgets God is condemned.
Any satisfaction that flows from obedience and gives God the glory is biblically affirmed.
That balance helps explain why Scripture can strongly warn against pride—while still encouraging believers to walk confidently and rejoice in a life well-lived before God.