Peter Tan-Chi - Beware of Pride, Be Humble
What do you do when you see this sign? I can almost predict when you see this sign, you are going to stay away from that house or that vicinity. You know why? Because you have the warning. What do you think is the most dangerous spiritual toxin that you and I can have? It is so dangerous. In fact, the Bible describes it. Do you know what it is? When you see this sign: Why is pride so deadly? 1 Peter 5 tells us The word "opposed" is a military term. It is describing an army that is organized to fight the enemy. In this verse, it is God orchestrating His army against the proud. God Himself is opposed to the proud.
The grammar is such that it implies it's present tense. God is always and will continue to oppose the proud people. Why should you beware? Why should you be careful of pride? Here is an amazing reality. Everyone, no exception, everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination. The word "abomination" means what? God detests. God is angry. God does not want people who are proud. Notice the certainty: "he will not be unpunished". The certainty of the danger of pride. "Pride goes before destruction". Do you know the meaning of the word "destruction"? The certainty, you'll be destroyed. It is something sure. "A haughty spirit before stumbling".
Another certainty! In short, it does not make sense to be proud. But the problem is this: we can be proud without knowing it because pride is very subtle. What is pride? Pride is about the self: self-glory, self-importance, self-will. In fact, one of the best definitions of pride is E.G.O.. EGO stands for what? Edging God Out. Ego is the first sin, believe it or not, committed by Satan. Let me read for you what the Bible is saying. That's where you have the word "lucifer", star of the morning. Now, notice God's description of Satan. You see, pride is a sin of the heart. Do you notice the word, "I... I... I..."? How do you spell "sin"? What is the middle letter for sin? What do you notice is the middle letter of the word "pride"? What's the middle letter? I again.
I like what C. S. Lewis said: Like anger, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness. That's why the message today is so important. Beware of pride. This sin is so dangerous because God becomes your enemy. "Gives grace to the humble", the cure is humility. "Gives grace", again, present tense. God will continue pouring in grace to the humble. The word "grace" means what? Undeserved favor. Grace is something that we don't deserve that God gives us. Grace is the power that God gives us to live a sanctified life. Grace is the power that God gives us to endure trials. Grace is the power and the desire and the ability God gives us to live a life that's pleasing to Him.
That is why it is important you understand God is opposed to the proud, gives grace to the humble; therefore, what must you do? Be humble. "Therefore humble yourselves", notice, humility is a choice. Humble yourselves. Don't try to humble others. Humble yourselves. It's you and God. You know why it's before God? "Under the mighty hand of God". Humility is recognizing who God is. Humility is realizing we are dependent upon God. And then look at the next phrase: God will take care of your future and your future will be amazing in His time. What is humility? Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is not thinking less of ourselves but thinking about ourselves less.
Oftentimes, it is simply not thinking of ourselves at all. You know why? Because a humble person is God-centered, Humility is seeing ourselves as God sees us. I love this acronym for humility: the same word for ego, E.G.O., but humility is the opposite: Exalt God Only. That is humility. E.G.O.: you want to focus on God, exalt God only. To show us the danger and the toxicity of pride and the importance of humility, I'm going to share with you four short examples from the Bible. The first one has to do with Mordecai and Haman from the book of Esther. The next one has to do with King Uzziah, and the next one has to do with King Manasseh. And the last one has to do with the example of Jesus regarding the tax collector and the Pharisee. I want you to notice in Esther 3:1-2, Haman was promoted. He was promoted to the highest position possible next to the king.
The Bible says he was given authority over all the princes and all the king's servants were to bow down to Haman. But there is one character, Mordecai, neither bowed down nor paid homage. You can now see the danger of pride. You see pride manifests itself in different ways. Here was Haman. He's now very angry. The Bible says he was filled with rage. Haman felt he was entitled to respect. Haman insisted that people should bow down to him; that's the characteristic of proud people. A few chapters later, you look at Haman. Haman went out that day, he was so happy, he was so pleased. Here was Haman again, in spite of all of his power, he was so bothered by one single individual, Mordecai. That's the problem with proud people. You become blind to yourself.
That's the danger of pride. We begin to be so enamored with our success, with our money, and we think we are superior. And you know what the Bible tells us? Haman is allowing somebody to steal his joy. That's the problem with proud people. It leads to other sin. The Bible tells us his wife and all of his friends told him. Beware of pride, pride leads to other sin. Haman is now thinking of killing Mordecai. If you are Mordecai, what is your future? Humanly speaking, Mordecai was finished, because the second most powerful person in that country is out to kill him. But can I tell you something? If you look at the Bible, a few verses described Mordecai. In other words, there was an attempted murder.
To make a long story short, when Mordecai reported to the queen and the queen reported to the king, there was an investigation, and the investigation confirmed the truth of Mordecai's accusation, and the Bible tells us those two men were captured and they were hanged. Look at the humility of Mordecai. Mordecai did not insist on taking the credit. Mordecai did not insist on telling Esther to tell the king that he is her uncle. He did not use the position of Esther to make himself popular before the king, because humble people are not after personal glory. Well, I want to ask you a question: how will God save the life of Mordecai, when Haman plotted to hang him the next morning? Well, I will share with you: the key to humility is to have a proper view of God, to learn to trust Him. Surrender your future to Him.
Look at Esther 6. What did God do? God made sure that the king will not be able to sleep. God made sure that the king would have a chance to read what really happened in the past. You see, God is sovereign. His timing is amazing. They read the following: it was written that somebody saved the life of the king. And when the king heard that part, that somebody saved his life from assassination, look at verse three: the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on this man who saved my life, on Mordecai"? The king's servants replied, "Nothing has been done to him".
You see when God wants to exalt you in His time, God will do it His way, His time. The king, at that precise moment, apparently it was morning already, so the king didn't sleep the whole night. Look at the timing of God. In the morning, Haman wanted to see the king, so he was there early. For what purpose? To get permission from the king to hang Mordecai. The king had no idea that was the intention of Haman. Look at the timing. Here comes Haman, he wanted to tell the king, "Let's hang Mordecai," without knowing that that night, the king discovered Mordecai saved his life and no honor was done to Mordecai. And you know what the king did? Look at the timing of God: when Haman entered, the king asked, "Haman, what should be done to somebody I'd like to honor? What should be done"? And Haman was thinking the king wanted to honor him.
You see, proud people sometimes deceive themselves. And Haman said, "Well, you give him the best robe, let him ride on your horse, and tell everybody, 'Bow before this man.'" And when the king heard it, you know what the king said? "Haman, you do that for Mordecai". What an ironic twist of events. The guy that Haman wanted to kill, the king commanded, "Haman, you now honor him, parade him all over the city". Do you want to know the end of the story? The Bible tells us in Esther 7:9, the king discovered that Haman did indeed construct these gallows to kill Mordecai. You know what the king said? "Hang Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai".
What's my point? Do you know what happened to Mordecai? Everything that belonged to Haman was transferred to Mordecai. Mordecai became the prime minister of the most powerful nation of that time. Do you realize the empire of King Ahasuerus? It's from the Middle East all the way to India. Such is the power that God bestowed upon Mordecai in God's time. The temptation to become proud is real. You can begin well, but if you're not careful, you become proud by virtue of your position, by virtue of your success, by virtue of your possessions. What do I mean? In 2 Chronicles 26, the Bible tells us the example of Uzziah. Uzziah was 16 years old when he became king. He reigned 52 years in Jerusalem.
In verse 4, the Bible tells us Uzziah began very well. The Bible tells us he did right. Look at verse five. And the Bible tells us God blessed him with livestock, power, fame, victory, a great army. In fact, his army was elite, the Bible describes them as an amazing army. And then verse 15 tells us The Bible tells us What was the problem of King Uzziah? When his heart became proud, do you notice what happened? He thought he was above the law, entitled. He felt he has the right to do what he wanted to do. No accountability. A humble person will listen and will change, but King Uzziah, because the heart was so proud, now, listen to me: proud people don't like correction. Proud people don't like criticism. Proud people don't listen.
And that's exactly what happened to Uzziah. And the Bible tells us King Uzziah forgot that his number one responsibility is to be faithful to God is to serve God, to obey His Word. He has forgotten that all of his blessings, his accomplishment is from God. But you see when you become proud, you think everything is because of your own effort. You are no longer dependent upon God, you don't listen to correction, you react when you are criticized, and that is exactly what happened to Uzziah. But to show us clearly that God is opposed to the proud, what did God do? God sent leprosy, and Uzziah was leprous for the rest of his life. I want us to look at another example, the example of King Manasseh.
In 2 Chronicles 33, let's read. And you know what happened to this guy? He reigned 55 years, one of the longest reigning kings. But Manasseh was a bad king. How evil was King Manasseh? He erected altars for Baals, he worshiped Asherim, he worshiped all the hosts of heaven. The guy was idolatrous! Worst of all, look at verse six: he Ladies and gentlemen, how would you described King Manasseh? Evil! And you know what God did? This is the amazing thing about God. God wanted him to repent. 2 Chronicles 33:10: Oftentimes God will approach us and speak to us, first in a gentle way. But they refused to listen. You see proud people don't listen. Proud people don't take correction. Proud people don't change. What did God do? God is opposed to the proud.
I want you to imagine now you are King Manasseh. God allowed you to be captured, put hooks; the hooks are usually tied on their nose, they are like animals. The guy was in deep trouble. And the Bible tells us Underline that word, "humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers". The Lord was moved by the humility of King Manasseh. Remember, God gives grace to the humble. And then the Bible tells us, God brought him back to Jerusalem. And the Bible tells us then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. Let me give you another example in the New Testament, you have the story of Jesus, a religious leader, and a tax collector.
Let's look at Luke 18:9-12, Here is a description of somebody who is proud: they trusted in themselves, in their own righteousness, and looked down on others. I call this the most dangerous kind of pride: self-righteousness. There are times when husbands and wives are guilty of this. We focus on the mistakes of the husbands or the mistakes of the wives. Even church members, we focus on the mistakes of others. We are quick to criticize other people but we don't see our own failure.
Look at this amazing example. Look at his humility. I want you to underline the definite article, "the sinner". You know what this tax collector is saying? "God, be merciful to me. I am the sinner". Humble people learn to see their own sinfulness. They don't focus on the sins of others. Jesus is teaching the disciples this amazing truth: God gives grace to the humble. Declared not guilty. Humble people experience salvation. Proud people will not experience salvation because the first step to forgiveness, the first step to becoming right with God is humility, admitting you are a sinner.
Remember the principle: beware of pride. God is opposed to the proud, be humble. I've seen this again and again. In my years of ministry. I've seen leaders, they fail in the area of humility. Why? Because pride is very subtle. They make bad choices without realizing it's because of pride. I've seen men who fail to confess their sin. I've seen men who fail to repent. I've seen women who fail in this area because of pride. They don't want to admit their mistake. They don't want to say, "Lord, I am wrong".
You see without humility, how can there be blessing? The first step to real blessing, to real salvation is humility. As you listen to this message, can you evaluate yourselves one to ten? Ten meaning you're as humble as Christ. One, you're as proud as Satan. Number one: are you rested? Rest in God's sovereignty. You don't feel the need to question God or to judge Him because you rest in His wisdom, in His decision. That's restedness. Are you rested? Are you thankful? Humble people are thankful. They are grateful. They focus on the goodness of God, because they are very appreciative. They understand they've been forgiven. Forgiving others? Humble people learn that they've been forgiven, so who are they not to forgive others? Are you quick to forgive others or do you hold grudges?
Humble people are teachable. They don't react when they are corrected. When they are criticized, they listen, because humble people want to grow. They are teachable. Humble people have a servant heart. They know that the purpose of life is not about themselves, it is serving God, serving others. To love God is to love others. They are able to be happy when others are blessed. Have you learned to be happy when others are blessed? Humble people are not judgmental. They don't focus on the mistakes of others. Humble people learn to not judge others, because they themselves are full of failures and mistakes. Humble people have surrendered their rights. They know that in the final analysis, they don't have any rights. Everything is a privilege.
Have you surrendered your rights, even the right to be right? Even the right to explain? Even the right to be forgiven? Have you surrendered those rights? And lastly, humble people are focused on God's glory. It's not their own glory. They are focused on giving honor to the Lord. Their agenda is God's agenda. How are we doing in that area? Are you preoccupied with God's glory, or are you preoccupied with your own glory, with your own image? Jesus invites us. In Matthew 11:28,29: Here's an amazing invitation. Those who are weary, heavy-laden, Jesus says come to Him. He gives you rest. But don't forget verse 29: Learn from Jesus! What can we learn about Jesus? Jesus describes Himself as gentle and humble. When you learn to be humble, you are most like Christ. And Jesus invites you to come to Him.
How do you come to him? Be humble. People who are learning to be humble, experience rest? People who are not humble are not rested. Because they're always trying to prove themselves. They are always trying to impress others. They don't want to admit their mistakes. Rest is something that we all long for. Today, many people are not rested. The root problem of many of our toxic emotions is pride. And once we understand the solution is humility, the other toxic emotions, will slowly go away. Because pride begets other negative emotions from anger anxiety, entitlement, et cetera. But if you learn to be gentle and be humble like Jesus, it is one of the most liberating truth you will ever experience. You don't have to prove anything, you are secure in your relationship with God and you experience real restedness. Humility is the key. Be humble.
Friends, I don't know about you; I need to remind myself, "Be humble, Peter. Always be humble". Humility is a choice. It's recognizing He alone is God. How do you practice humility? Step one: admit before God that you are proud. Come to Him. And then recognize that He alone can transform your heart. Be honest before Him. Tell Him, "Lord, change my heart". Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? Have you humbled yourself before God and said, "Lord, I need you"? Jesus invites you, come to Him. If God has spoken to you, why don't you pray this prayer with me, a prayer that will really transform your life.
Lord Jesus, I realize I've been a proud person. I realize I've never surrendered myself to You. I'm quick to judge people. I'm quick to criticize people. Today, I humble myself before You. I admit I need You. I admit I'm a proud person. Jesus, forgive me. I embrace You today as my Lord and my Savior. I realize You are the King of Kings. I surrender my all. I surrender my future to You. Be my Savior. Be my Master. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.