Proverbs 16:18 says that " Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." I know a number of people with this problem.
You can find them in workplaces, and families, and churches, and social groups you belong to. Sadly, for many of them, this has been a lifelong problem/issue. These people are usually difficult to be around or get close to. Some of them act like they are better than you, or that you 'owe' them something. Some of them just walk around looking "down their nose" at most everyone else. Some act like in a resentful way--like you are trying to displace them.
All of this flows out of feelings of insecurity or feelings of inferiority.
Some of them had a parental figure that they could never please, no matter how hard they tried. Some just got focused on what they believed were their own deficiencies and got stuck there, always trying to prove that they weren't so bad after all. Perhaps the saddest of all are those who believe they are "saved" or "are going to heaven" because they are members of a church or denomination, or they believe certain doctrines, or they had a particular experience.
Jesus said, (John 10:27) "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." If Jesus is your shepherd, Savior and Lord, you have the ability to [spiritually] hear His voice; you know you belong to Him, and you seek to follow Him. There is in that relationship Acceptance and Identity and Security and Purpose. If you truly trust Him, how you feel about yourself, how others feel about you, what talents you may or may not have, all these MUST become SECONDARY!
If you are one of these proud people, there is room for you to repent and be changed. You can live a life of much greater harmony and peace with those around you. You can take off the man-made suit of armor you have tried to rely on and live freely in the identity JESUS HAS FOR YOU.
And, if you are one of those who is subjected to living around, working with, or dealing with a prideful person, let's pray that God will break through the stronghold of faulty thinking that keeps these people enslaved to a bondage and a false self image they were never supposed be chained to.
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