There are three kinds of pride: a good pride, a bad pride and an arrogant pride. Pride may have more affect on our lives and attitudes than we realize. A good pride is seeking knowledge with a pure heart that has love for God, others and self. There is nothing wrong with being confident and having pride in what we accomplish. As long as we have the right attitude coming from humility.

An arrogant pride can interfere with a love for God and others. We may think we are better than others or we are indispensible by thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We have a self-centered nature from birth that wants to promote an arrogant pride. This arrogant pride can cause envy, jealousy, greed, hate, boastful bragging, etc. This pride has a tendency to want the attention of others. Hopefully, as we mature we are able to develop some humility.

Having what I call a bad pride is when we become angry, frustrated or disgusted because someone or we may have made a mistake. Anger can be the result of an injured pride. Do we or others think we are inhuman? Do we believe that we and others are incapable of never making an error or cause bad judgments? I have seen people lose their tempers over insignificant mistakes, by others and themselves. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control and that is not to be overly prideful.

I have been to a number of leadership seminars. They teach the importance of when a leader makes a mistake is to own up to it, as quickly as possible. An arrogant pride will try to blame others or the circumstance. Scripture teaches that we are to admit we are sinners, needing forgiveness and need the willingness to repent and move forward.

Proverbs 8:13 – “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 11:2 – “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

An individual with an arrogant pride tends to cause disgrace to themselves. A wise person with wisdom tends to be humble. An arrogant pride would want to impress you with my blogs. A bad pride is I need your attention. A good pride is hoping the Holy Spirit will inspire me to write something from 50 plus years of Christian experience that will help you have a better life. As a Christian, it is praying daily that the Holy Spirit will give you guidance and check you when you use the wrong pride. If you have a problem with pride you will be checked. However, many times people do not realize that anger and frustration is caused by that injured pride. Often you cannot fix the problem if you do not know what is causing it.
John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

If we want to live life to the fullest, we must overcome negative pride. Realize that it takes spiritual growth and maturity which is a process that we must go through. It is changing who we are to who God has planned for us to be. It may be best described by the following illustration: If we are not enjoying life like Christ intended we must ask ourselves; as Christians shouldn’t we be living that extra-ordinary life style? God created an ugly old worm, called a caterpillar that crawls along the ground with all kinds of obstacles blocking its way. After a time, this worm is instantaneously transformed into an insect called a butterfly, which is one of the most graceful and beautiful of all insects. What kind of life are we living, like the caterpillar or the butterfly? As a result of our self-centered nature, we were born ‘caterpillar-like’. But Christ came to offer us a ‘butterfly-like’ life. If God can transform a caterpillar into a butterfly, can’t He transform a sinner into one of His children? The Bible says God will bring our life into a new dimension. (“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17). As a caterpillar, I made all kinds of mistakes. I had a problem with pride and a bad attitude. As a converted caterpillar to a butterfly, the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death that had been given to the caterpillar. (Romans 8:2)

Do we feel liberated and free from a caterpillar-like life? To become a butterfly requires being born again into a new life that we might be forgiven of our sins and become free. For that to happen we had to accept Christ as our Savior so we could be forgiven of our past, present and future sins in order that we might become free. Do we believe that it is possible to completely change and live as a new person? Do we sense His power, His love and His guidance in our lives? Do we believe God wants anything but the best for us? Scripture tells us if we accept the truth it will set us free to become whatever we dream to be. Then why would we ever let a bad or an arrogant pride keep us living like a caterpillar? The Bible emphasizes the need for spiritual wisdom and humility. This is why the Bible instructs us to develop the mind of Christ and not be prideful.