Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV)
2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.
In Proverbs 6:16-19, Solomon tells us that there are six things that the Lord hates, yes seven which are an abomination to Him. At the head of that list are “proud looking eyes.” God hates pride.
So what is pride? Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines pride as, “Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one’s own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others.” So pride is first an attitude of the heart that then manifests itself in action. The attitude of the heart is an “inordinate” or “unreasonable” self-esteem and conceit. The proud man imagines himself to be more than he is.
We witness this “boastful pride of life”, as the Apostle John calls it in 1 John 2:16, in the fall of Satan and in the temptation of our first parents. Paul warns us not to appoint a new convert to church office “lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil” (1 Tim 3:6). It was the devil’s pride, his belief that he could be equal to God his Creator, that precipitated his rebellion against God and then ended in his defeat and judgment. Similarly, Satan lured the first woman, Eve, to eat of the forbidden fruit by promising her that if she rebelled against God and partook of the forbidden fruit then she would “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5). Pride plunged the entire human race into sin and misery.
According to Solomon, pride always ends in shame. “When pride comes, then comes shame…” Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit and immediately their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked and were ashamed. The builders of the tower of Babel set out to “make a name” for themselves but ended in mass confusion and dispersion. Miriam rose up in pride against Moses and King Uzziah entered the temple in his pride and both were struck with leprosy, shamed before their peoples. Haman’s pride stretched his neck on the gallows and Herod Agrippa’s pride welcomed the worms that ate his bowels. “When pride comes, then comes shame…”
But Solomon continues our proverb. “When pride comes, then comes shame, But with the humble is wisdom.” “But…” isn’t that a glorious word? We are not sentenced to shame. Shame need not be our lot in life. “But with the humble is wisdom.” The humble man is the one who knows his place and joyfully occupies it to the glory of God. That man shall not be put to shame. “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame’” (Rom 10:11). The humble shall possess wisdom and honor. “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). Abraham possesses the gates of his enemies; Moses dies an old man, greatly esteemed in Israel; Joshua is summoned by God to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land; Ruth tends to her mother-in-law Naomi; Mary welcomes the Lord’s selection of her to serve as the mother of Jesus. “Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). But with the humble is wisdom.
So what of you? Do you struggle with shame? One cause may very well be that you have been proud, thinking more of yourself than you ought, imagining yourself more significant than you are. There are, of course, other causes of shame. However, pride – a refusal to worship God as God and to listen to Him and submit to His Word as our source of wisdom and life – is one of the chief causes of shame.
And so reminded that with pride comes shame but with the humble is wisdom, let us confess that we have often given way to pride, thinking ourselves wiser than we are. And as we confess our sin to the Lord, let us kneel in His presence. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.