HOW PRIDE WORKS

2 Kings 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
2Kings 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2 Kings 5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
2 Kings 5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
2 Kings 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

In this article, I will share with you the impact of pride and how it affects our Christian life. From the above text, we could see pride in the heart of King Naaman. He thought to himself, how can Elisha command him to wash in the river of Jordan. Naaman valued his dignity above the word of the prophet.

Pride can manifest in different ways and mediums. We have to be careful about our ways because it can block our deliverance. Naaman had a humble servant. This servant advised Naaman to humble himself and follow the instruction of the prophet. When Naaman humbled himself and washed in the river of Jordan, God healed him.

People cannot receive their miracle because of their status in life. They look at their position in the workplace, wealth, connections, family and social status. In the church, they will never contribute to the house of God because they feel too big to involve themselves in church activities. We must preach on the consequences of pride in our churches because pride destroys. Pride emanates in different ways. God resists, opposes and rejects the proud (See James 4:6).

If God resists you, who can defend you. You better humble yourself because pride is an invisible killer. Ahithophel committed suicide (hanged himself) because Absalom did not obey his counsel. We knew Ahithophel as one of the wisest people in the land of Israel. He was the counsellor of King David.

The word of God records that the counsel of Ahithophel was like the counsels of God. When you hear the word of Ahithophel, it looks as if God has spoken to you. God gave Ahithophel wisdom, knowledge and understanding to help the Kings and the Prophets but he died in his pride.

• Ahithophel died with his wisdom because of pride (See 2 Samuel 17:23).
• Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom because of pride.
• Nebuchadnezzar took on the nature of an animal because of pride (See Daniel 4:30-34; 5:20).
• Pride is an abomination in the sight of God.
• Pride makes you an enemy of God (See Proverbs 16:5; 8:13).
• Pride makes a person unable to repent or change his or her attitude and bad character. (See Daniel 5:20).
• Pride opens the door for an evil spirit to torment you.
• Pride opens your heart for demonic possession.
• Pride closes the door of grace, favour, and mercies in our lives.
• Pride makes a person stink in the presence of the Lord.
• Pride gives Satan and his minion the legal right to control the person.
• Pride downgrade your spiritual power in the sight of wicked demons.
• Pride is an invisible and silent killer.
• Pride makes you a tyrant in the eyes of people.
• Pride makes people hate you for no reason.
• Pride devalues and corrupts the anointing.
• Pride catapults you into the realms of deception.
• Pride activates contentions, strife, jealousy, and conflicts within a jurisdiction.
• Pride leads to shame and confusion.
• Pride leads to destruction.
• Pride can make you die before your time.

 Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive me of my pride and create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me in Jesus Christ name.
Amen.

Further Bible Studies: Proverbs 16:18; 18:12 ;11:2 ;13:10; 28:25

Recommended article: The seven levels of pride

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