WHAT IS PRIDE?
THERE is nothing into which the heart of man so easily falls as
PRIDE, and there is no vice which is more frequently, more
emphatically, and more eloquently condemned in Scripture.
Pride is a groundless thing. It stands on the sands; or
worse than that, it puts its foot on the billows which yield
beneath its tread; or, worse still, it stands on bubbles, which
soon must burst beneath its feet. Of all things pride has the
worst foothold; it has no solid rock on earth whereon to place
itself. We have reasons for almost everything, but we have no
reasons for pride. Pride is a thing which should be unnatural to
us, for we have nothing to be proud of.
Again, it is a brainless thing as well as a groundless
thing; for it brings no profit with it. There is no wisdom in a
self-exaltation. Other vices have some excuse for men seem to
gain by them; avarice, pleasure, lust, have some plea; but the
man who is proud sells his soul cheaply. He opens wide the
flood-gates of his heart, to let men see how deep is the flood
within his soul; then suddenly it flows out, and all is gone —
and all is nothing, for one puff of empty wind, one word of
sweet applause — the soul is gone, and not a drop is left. In
almost every other sin, we gather up the ashes when the fire is
gone; but here, what is left? The covetous man hath his shining
gold, but what hath the proud man? He has less than he would
have had without his pride, and is no gainer whatever. Pride
wins no crown; men never honor it, not even the menial slaves of
earth; for all men look down on the proud man, and think him
less than themselves.
Again, pride is the maddest thing that can exist; it
feeds upon its own vitals; it will take away its own life, that
with its blood it may make a purple for its shoulders; it saps
and undermines its own house that it may build its pinnacles a
little higher, and then the whole structure tumbles down.
Nothing proves men so mad as pride.
Then pride is a versatile thing; it changes its shape; it
is in all forms in the world; you may find it in any fashion you
may choose; you may see it in the beggar’s rags as well as in
the rich man’s garments. It dwells with the rich, and with the
poor. The man without a shoe to his foot may be as proud as if
he were riding in a chariot. Pride can be found in every rank of
society —among all classes of men. Sometimes it is an Arminian,
and talks about the power of the creature; then it turns
Calvinist, and boasts of its fancied security, forgetful of the
Maker, who alone can keep our faith alive. Pride can profess any
form of religion; it may be a Quaker, and wear no collar to its
coat; it may be a Churchman, and worship God in splendid
cathedrals; it may be a Dissenter, and go to the common
meeting-house; it is one of the most Catholic (universal) things in the
world, it attends all kinds of chapels and churches; go where
you will, you will see pride. It cometh up with us to, the house
of God; it: goes with us; to our houses; it is found on the mart
and the exchange, in the streets, and everywhere.
Let me hint at one or two forms which it assumes.
Sometimes pride takes the doctrinal shape; it teaches the
doctrine of self-sufficiency; it tells us what man can do, and
will not allow that we are lost, fallen, debased, and ruined
creatures, as we are. It hates divine sovereignty, and rails at
election. Then, if it is driven from that, it takes another
form; it allows that the doctrine of free grace is true, but
does not feel it. It acknowledges that salvation is of the Lord
alone, but still it prompts men to seek heaven by their own
works, even by the deeds of the law. And when driven from that,
it will persuade men to join something with Christ in the matter
of salvation; and when that is all rent up, and the poor rag of
our righteousness is all burned, pride will get into the
Christian’s heart as well as the sinner’s — it will flourish
under the name of self-sufficiency, teaching the Christian that
he is “rich and increased in goods, having need of nothing.” It
will tell him that he does not need daily grace, that past
experience will do for to-morrow — that he knows enough, toils
enough, prays enough. It will make him forget that he has “not
yet attained:” it will not allow him to press forward to the
things that are before, forgetting the things that are behind.
It enters into his heart, and tempts the believer to set up an
independent business for himself, and until the Lord brings
about a spiritual bankruptcy, pride will keep him from going to
God. Pride has ten thousand shapes; it is not always that stiff
and starched gentleman that you picture; it is a vile, creeping,
insinuating thing, that will twist itself like a serpent into
our hearts. It will talk of humility, and prate about being dust
and ashes. I have known men talk about their corruption most
marvelously, pretending to be all humility, while at the same
time they were the proudest wretches that could be found this
side the gulf of separation. O my friends! ye cannot tell how
many shapes pride will assume. Look sharp about you, or you will
be deceived by it, and when you think you are entertaining
angels, you will find you have been receiving devils unawares.
The true throne of pride everywhere is the heart of man. If we
desire, by God’s grace, to put down pride, the only way is to
begin with the heart.
Now let me tell you a parable in the form of an eastern story,
which will set this truth in its proper light. A wise man in the
east, called a dervish, in his wanderings, came suddenly upon a
mountain, and he saw beneath his feet a smiling valley, in the
midst of which there flowed a river. The sun was shining on the
stream, and the water, as it reflected the sunlight, looked pure
and beautiful. when he descended, he found it was muddy, and the
water utterly unfit for drinking. Hard by he saw a young man, in
the dress of a shepherd, who was with much diligence filtering
the water for his flocks. At one moment he poured some water
into a pitcher, and then allowing it to stand, after it had
settled, he poured the clean fluid into a cistern. Then, in
another place, he would be seen turning aside the current for a
little, and letting it ripple over the sand and stones, that it
might be filtered and the impurities removed. The dervish
watched the young man endeavoring to fill a large cistern with
clear water; and he said to him, “My son, why all this toil? —
what purpose dost thou answer by it?” The young man replied.
“Father, I am a shepherd; this water is so filthy that my flock
will not drink it, and, therefore, I am obliged to purify it
little by little, so I collect enough in this way that they may
drink; but it is hard work.” So saying, he wiped the sweat from
his brow, for he was exhausted with his toil. “Right well hast
thou labored,” said the wise man, “but dost thou know thy toil
is not well applied? With half the labor you might attain a
better end. I should conceive that the source of this stream
must be impure and polluted; let us take a pilgrimage together
and see.” They then walked some miles, climbing their way over
many a rock, until they came to a spot where the stream took its
rise. When they came near to it. they saw flocks of wild fowls
flying away, and wild beasts of the earth rushing into the
forest; these had come to drink, and had soiled the water with
their feet. They found an open well, which kept continually
flowing, but by reason of these creatures, which perpetually
disturbed it, the stream was always turbid and muddy. “My son,”
said the wise man, “set to work now to protect the fountain and
guard the well, which is the source of this stream; and when
thou hast done that, if thou canst keep these wild beasts and
fowls away, the stream will flow of itself, all pure and clear,
and thou wilt have no longer need for thy toil.” The young man
did it:, and as he labored, the wise man said to him, “My, son,
hear the word of wisdom; if thou art wrong, seek not to correct
thine outward life, but seek first to get thy heart correct, for
out of it are the issues of life, and thy life shall be pure
when once thy heart is so.” So if we would get rid of pride, we
should not proceed to arrange our dress by adopting some special
costume, or to qualify our language by using an outlandish
tongue; but let us seek of God that he would purify our hearts
from pride, and then assuredly, if pride is purged from the
heart, our life also shall be humble. Make the tree good, and
then the fruit shall be good; make the fountain pure, and the
stream shall be sweet.
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon - Words of Wisdom
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