Daily Bible Verses for 8/27/2016

Bible Verse
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning.

Reading Notes
Pride is one of the most destructive sins, mankind can possess. The sin of pride, often times leads us to treat others poorly because we tend to see ourselves as better than those around us. Pride also causes us to harden our hearts to the will of God and the needs of others. In the New Testament we read over and over again how Jesus dealt with the Pharisees. How the Pharisees failed to truly understand the wisdom and guidance provided by God’s word and see that the kingdom of God was at hand. Their problem was pride, and it was their pride which caused them to become more concerned about social status and position than the things of God. Pride also caused them to do whatever they could to maintain the status quo. Pride is the primary agent which causes us to focus on self and not others. Pride is what drives us to seek recognition for ourselves over the good of others.

In addition, pride caused the Pharisees to close their hearts and minds to Jesus, His teachings and ignore the scriptures. We are to serve the Lord with meekness and humility, not esteeming ourselves above others. This means if we have a heart full of pride, we are then unable to do as Jesus requested of us. As Paul told the Colossian church, “therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering.” A heart full of pride cannot understand what it means to have, “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering.” In addition, we should recall what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 18:4, “whoever humbles himself… He is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” God’s message is clear, we must first deal with our own pride before we can be open to the full guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have to look at pride not as a virtue; but rather as a hindrance in serving the Lord with all our hearts, because pride prevents us from putting Jesus and others before ourselves.