Pride vs. Worship: Pride’s Price
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look . . .” -Proverbs 6:16-17
You don’t have to read too far into the list of things that the Lord hates before you get to pride. As a matter of fact, this vice is listed as the very first thing!
And just what’s so bad about pride? Why would God hate it so much?
I believe in its most basic terms, that pride is the opposite of worship. Worship is an exalting of God, and a humbling of oneself. Pride, which both caused the downfall of Lucifer who then became Satan (see Isaiah 14:12-15), and is arguably God’s most hated sin, is the exalting of oneself over God.
In the Bible, you’ll often noticed that pride is described as being lifted up, or high, or raised up in some way; while worship is usually shown in kneeling, or bowing down, or in a number of ways that implies humility.
Pride is frequently described in the world as being a “fatal flaw,” and it takes a myriad of forms. But just beyond the disgusting nature of pride, what are the consequences, and how does it differ from worship?
Pride causes blindness
First and foremost, those who are proud are blinded by their pride. And that’s exactly the trouble with it: most don’t even know how proud they really are. The apostle John wrote unto the church in Laodicea:
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” -Revelation 3:16-17
Since pride is so deceitful and hidden, it is very difficult to deal with because we cannot see that it is even there in the first place. But what about worship?
Worship leads to God’s guidance
I remember a few years ago, I was at the DMV to get my driver’s license renewed. They had a vision-checking machine that you look into, and small letters would light up, and you’d have to read them aloud to pass the vision test.
When it came my turn to take the test, I hastily went on ahead and looked into the machine and saw only blackness. The woman behind the counter had not given me the instructions yet, but I thought I’d be able to figure it out—which I didn’t.
It was then that she told me something that relates perfectly to worship. . . I’ve always associated worship with one’s forehead, both because of the bowing down of one’s head toward the ground, (Exodus 34:8), and also because in heaven it says that the Lamb’s name shall be written in our foreheads (Revelation 22:3-4).
With this in mind, she said, “Press in with your forehead.” And I looked, and ha! I laughed to myself, there was a big button on the vision-testing machine that you press in with your forehead. And upon doing this, everything in front of me lit up, and I could see all the letters clearly.
“The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” -Psalm 25:9
Pride leads to destruction
If you are blind, then chances are you don’t know where you are going. In the verse quoted further up this page about the blindness of the church at Laodicea, it says that God will spew them out of His mouth. Certainly, pride has its costs:
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” -Proverbs 16:18
Worship is the antidote for pride
True heart-worship, being an expression of respect and reverence toward God, and an abasing of one’s own self, is in its very nature meek. And in one of the verses above, it says that God will guide the meek in judgment and show them His way.
I believe that this guidance, from God alone, is the only real way to spot pride and truly deal with it. Besides all of the other blessings of joy and peace that accompany praise and worship, there is the added benefit of squelching the disgusting roots of pride.
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