Pride – Word for the Soul

Boast that you know the Lord

August 11, 2025August 10, 2025 Loring Schultz

“This is what the LORD says: Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT

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Some successful, well maybe more than some successful, people do their fair share of boasting, or what I would call bragging. Their intelligence and wisdom are well known, but they feel a need to tell you about it. You can see for yourself they are well-off financially, but again they inform you how well-off. They tell you how they achieved their status in life. And then we have those powerful people either in business or politics or both that don’t need to tell you how powerful they are, they show it by controlling you and the things around you that you have no control over.

Boasting is not a modern-day problem. It is as old as sin itself. The Lord speaking to the people of Judah through Jeremiah warned them of the coming disaster that was upon them for their continua sin. He also told them not to boast, or brag, about such things mentioned above. But if they really felt the need to boast they should boast that they knew the Lord. Afterall they owed everything they had to Him in providing for them. The Lord wanted them to know His love for them, and it is He who brings justice and righteousness to the earth.

The Lord God can speak the same words to us today in 2025. Whatever our position in life, however successful we are, we owe in all to God. It’s inappropriate to brag, because it is God’s work done through us. Sure, we are the hands and feet, but the Lord supplies the wisdom, knowledge, and strength to achieve any success we come by in this life. So, let’s put off boasting and boast that we know the Lord.

Devotionals

Let Go of Your Pride

April 7, 2025April 4, 2025 Loring Schultz

“Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.” Proverbs 29:23 NLT

“He quickly said to his young armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!’ So the young man ran him through with his sword, and he died.” Judges 9:54 NLT

We have all come across people with excess pride, and not in a good way. There are some people who are just full of themselves. Hopefully your contact with them is limited, especially if you run into that one in the mirror. Make sure that contact is extremely limited. I have written about pride in the past, but there are many tentacles that protrude out of pride as in those flexible unjointed organs extending from certain animals particularly invertebrates. They all serve the purpose of stoking one’s pride, but it’s time to start picking them off.

If we fail to address where a tentacle of pride surfaces and leave it alone, it will become part of our character and be hard to shake off. The longer it is left alone the more we tend to confirm its existence as positive, and it will bring other forms of hidden pride above the surface. A life full of pride undealt with will be carried right through until death.

A case in point, Abimelech, who ruled over Israel for three years after having seventy of his brothers killed, couldn’t die thinking he would be remembered as being kill by a woman. You might say he had a problem with women, but pride played a role. God pronounced judgement on Abimelech for his ungodly actions when he attempted to invade the town of Thebez. A woman drops a millstone on his head and crushed his skull. And in his pride, Abimelech, said in his final breath, “to his young armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!’” (Jud.9:54 nlt) Against women perhaps, full of pride until the end, definitely! Don’t let pride hang around, let it go.

Devotionals

Pride and Arrogance

February 27, 2025February 26, 2025 Loring Schultz

Read: Daniel 4:19-33 NLT – Daniel Explains the Dream – “Upon – Bible Gateway

“I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Proverbs 8:13

King Nebuchadnezzar was a powerful man; in fact, he was the most powerful man in the world. He ruled the Babylonian empire which was most of the known world during his days. Nebuchadnezzar had somewhat of an ego problem. Life was all about him, and why not, he ruled the world, or so he thought. His ego led to pride and eventually arrogance. Looking out over the city of Babylon in his pride and arrogance, Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.” (Dan.4:30 nlt)

Indeed, Babylon was a great and beautiful city. I’m sure his residence would make the mansions on millionaire row look like poorly built shacks. And I’m sure Nebuchadnezzar accomplished all this by his own might and power, but he forgot two crucial things, His power came from the Lord God, and it is the Lord God who rules the world. He would soon find this out the hard way.

Through a dream King Nebuchadnezzar would learn his fate as Daniel interpreted for him. Daniel’s words were hard to accept even for Daniel himself, “You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven.” (Dan.4:25 nlt) But it didn’t seem to move Nebuchadnezzar to change his ways and shed his pride and arrogance.

Pride is a very destruction force that will bring down the most powerful people. If it could bring down the mighty and powerful in the world, it can bring down you and me. The Lord said He hates pride and arrogance. May we be careful not to carry an attitude which the Lord hates.

Devotionals

Don’t Let It Go to Your Head

February 6, 2025February 5, 2025 Loring Schultz

Read: Daniel 3:1-7 NLT – Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue – King – Bible Gateway

“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 NLT

Pride can become a self-inflicting disease when we have an unduly high opinion of ourselves. Its symptoms are arrogance, egotistic, conceited, and other not so fine characteristics. Can there be good effects of pride as there is good and bad cholesterol, or good stress vs. verses bad stress? Well yes. You can take pride in a job well done, in graduating college with high honors, or passing the state boards in your vocational choice, and you can be prideful of the achievements your children earn throughout their lives. But in all these cases, let them not go to our heads.

King Nebuchadnezzar, in the book of Daniel, let his dream Daniel interpretated for him go to his head. In fact, he erected a statue with a gold head symbolizing himself. Daniel told him he represented the head of gold in the figure of the man he saw in his dream. We do not know how long after his dream Nebuchadnezzar had the statue built. We do know that the king told Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings.” (Dan.2:47 nlt) But over time his sentiment towards God wore off. He would now order everyone in the Babylonian Empire to bow down and worship his golden statue. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride got to him. This was both a religious and political act to be obeyed. Failing to comply would result in immediate death.

Nebuchadnezzar’s actions caused by his pride seem over the top of anything we might be capable of. Actually, they aren’t. Receiving that promotion at work, or being noted as the head of the class, or ranking #1 in the pickle ball tournament, may not cause us to want to be worshiped, but if it goes to our head, we sure want people to notice. Take pride in a job well done and forget about the head of gold.

Devotionals

Humble Yourself Before God

October 23, 2024October 22, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Show me what sins hide thee from me and eclipse thy love; Help me to humble myself for past evils, to be resolved to walk with more care, For if I do not walk holily before thee, how can I be assured of my salvation?” (1)

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” James 4:6 ESV

Are you one who finds it hard to admit you’re wrong? You just cannot find it in yourself the possibility you didn’t have it right. This demeanor will eventually cause distance between you and others over time. Having this attitude, ‘I am always right’ will lead you into a false perception of right and wrong. It’s a sad way to live in this world, but more tragic when it comes to the things of God and eternal life after this life is over. A person will lose friends in this life by on-going pride but will forfeit eternal life with Christ in heaven by not humbling themselves before Him and acknowledging Jesus is the only way to heaven.

Human pride gets in the way of a lot of things in this life. There are times when we think we can do better with what is presented to us adding our own recipe. The good news about salvation is that there is nothing you can add to the presentation of the gospel. In fact, what is required is to take away your pride, recognizing and admitting that you are a sinner in need of a savior. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short on God’s scale. (Ro.3:23) It takes rejecting our pride in an admission and confession of our sins by accepting Christ as savior to be assure of heaven. God does indeed oppose the proud but gives grace to those who humble before Him.

“It is the meek and humble who are shown thy covenant, know thy will, are pardoned and healed, who by faith depend and rest upon grace, who are sanctified and quickened, who evidence thy love.” (1)

(1) Bennett, Arthur. The Valley of Vision. East Peoria: Baer of Truth Trust, 2023. Pg 9, The Divine Will.

Bible Studies

“A Sleepless Night” God’s Providential Hand: The book of Esther

August 25, 2024August 24, 2024 Loring Schultz

“On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.” Esther 6:1 ESV

God does work in mysterious ways. We can also call it God’s providential hand at work. Last week in our look in the book of Esther we left off with Haman feeling good about himself. He set in motion the act of finally getting rid of Mordecai, the hated Jew. Haman couldn’t wait until the king’s edit was in force killing all the Jews. He needed to finish him off immediately. In rapid succession, the gallows were being built overnight and Haman made sure he arose early the next morning to go before the king and get permission to execute the rebellious Mordecai. All was going according to plan, except for one thing, King Ahasuerus had trouble falling asleep that night. God was making the next move with His providential hand.

Sleep aids were not available back in the day of the Persian Empire and perhaps he tried a little wine to help him relax, but he still couldn’t fall asleep. So, he did the next best thing. The king had the records of his reign brought in and read to him. There’s nothing more boring to put you to sleep than listening to government records being recited. But in this case, before falling asleep he was stimulated by the account of Mordecai who had saved his life. “In those records he discovered an account of how Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the door to the king’s private quarters. They had plotted to assassinate King (Ahasuerus).” (Es.6:2 nlt)

It seems strange to us at times that people don’t get the recognition they deserved at the time. The king’s officials knew of Mordecai’s discovery and moved to save the king, but somehow the reward or thanks escaped the king. We may have experienced the same results where we find ourselves going unnoticed for an important deed we had done. But take heart, our providential God knows and will reward us in due time.

King Ahasuerus asked how Mordecai was rewarded for uncovering this plot, in which the reply was nothing was done to reward him. The king’s heart was moved to appropriate gratitude and honor for the man who saved his life. He wanted the advice of one of his officials and asked if anybody was in the courtyard that early morning. Sure enough, Haman had just arrived and was invited to come in by the king.

The king may have been pleased that it was Haman, his most trusted and highest official, who was in the courtyard that morning. It was fortunate for King Ahasuerus, but not for Haman. Haman was asked what should be done for the man who the king desires to honor. True to his character, Haman applied this to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” (Es.6:6b esv) He then proceeded to honor himself in a glorious way to secure his position as the king’s right-hand man. Haman wasn’t interested in financial gain, only for the acclaim and adoration of the people. One commentator noted that there is irony here, Haman held back the identity of Jews he wanted to destroy, and King Ahasuerus didn’t reveal who he wanted to honor.

All the elements of a proper recognition of the one the king wants to honor as suggested by Haman had to be bestowed upon Mordecai. Haman thought he would be the one dressed in Royal robes the king wore. He would ride on the king’s own horse, and one the king’s officials would parade him through the city square shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!” (Es.6:9b nlt) But Haman felt the providential hand of God turn his entire world upside down when King Ahasuerus said to him, “Excellent! Quick! Take the robes and my horse and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!” (Es.6:10 nlt) Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” (nlt) Haman is now beginning to fall into the hand of God where he will never escape.

Haman obeyed his instructions from the king and paraded Mordecai through the city square facing humiliation. Dr. John MacArthur notes, “Mordecai’s distress turned to Haman…… just days before Mordecai was in the city square with sackcloth and ashes, now he (is) honored by the king in royal robes.” Haman returns to his home dejected by the morning’s turn of events and is greeted by his wife and friends who realize this is from the God of the Jewish people and tell him that his plan and he himself is doomed.

The examples we see of God’s providential hand in the book of Esther are for our benefit today. The future doesn’t always look bright, in fact it seems very dark, but God still has His moves to make. He will make them at the appropriate time for His glory and for our benefit. In the meantime, we continue to serve God and trust Him for His will to done. There are plenty of Haman’s in the world today, but God will frustrate their plans perhaps by another sleepless night and eventually they will be brought down. We will uncover Haman’s fate and the Jews miraculous survival in the weeks ahead through God’s providential hand.

Read: Esther 6 ESV – The King Honors Mordecai – On that – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

I Am the Greatest

July 15, 2024July 10, 2024 Loring Schultz

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’” Matthew 18:1 NIV

In 1964 before his heavy weight title fight against Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, made his famous pronouncement, ‘I am the greatest.’ Backing up his claim he went on to defeat Liston by a TKO after six rounds. No one can deny Ali’s greatness in the ring throughout his career; retiring in 1981 with 56 wins, only 3 loses, and 3 world titles. Many consider him to be the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) at least in the boxing realm and that may indeed be true. Desiring to be the best in your sport, even considered great by working hard at it is an admirable endeavor, but be careful not to let pride get in the way.

Jesus’s disciples were eagerly waiting the Messianic kingdom He was about to bring into existence. They were also anxious about their role in the kingdom asking Jesus which of them would be the greatest. The disciples were concerned because certain ones were selected over others for specific tasks. They were more concerned with having prominence in the kingdom than what Jesus had assigned for them. They wanted to insure a favorable position, one that would meet their expectations. But they had it all wrong.

This became a teachable moment for the disciples and for us today. Jesus sat a little child before them and said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt.18:3-4) Jesus is saying entrance into the kingdom of God is not of our own works, but by the lowly position of simple faith in Him and that constitutes the greatest in the kingdom.

Let us not be prideful in our accomplishments here on earth but give the glory to God. Let us take the lowly position of childlike faith in accepting Jesus Christ as Lord, and be able to proclaim in the kingdom, ‘He is the greatest.’

A Christian Perspective

Pride Leads to Disgrace

June 8, 2024June 7, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2 NLT

‘But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,
‘God opposes the proud but favors the humble.’” James 4:6 NLT

Pride is a word we hear and come across often today, especially at this time of year. It does have several meanings according to Websters New World Dictionary, ‘pride’ is defined as 1. a) an unduly high opinion of oneself b) haughtiness, arrogance. 2. dignity and self-respect. 3. satisfaction in something done, owed, etc. 4. a person or thing in which pride is taken. Christians often struggle with pride. For example, is it wrong to be proud of certain accomplishments you have achieved through hard work? Are you wrong to be proud of a son or daughter who has just graduated from high school or college? And what about the successes of those we know who have reached the highest level of their profession, do we refrain from being proud of them?

The Bible has a lot to say about pride, mostly in a negative sense, but not always. Isaiah writes of legitimate pride during Jesus’ reign on earth, “But in that day, the branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel.” (Is.4:2 nlt) But for the most part, Scripture speaks of pride as part of our sinful fallen nature. The apostle John says, “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” (1Jn.2:16 nlt) When our accomplishments and achievements are viewed without God in mind as we boast in who we are and what we have done, it is the sin of pride. All sin has its roots in pride. Satan’s fall from grace as Lucifer, son of the morning, was due to his pride. (Is.14:12-15)

So, what are you proud of? Was the Lord’s hand in it? Did you do it for His glory and would He approve of it? Are you proud of someone else’s achievements for the same reasons? Is God glorified by the accomplishments of that individual you are proud of? Having pride in something or somebody must always be filtered through the God of the Bible and His words to us. Let us be obedient to His Word and live humbly before Him realizing ‘pride leads to disgrace.’

Bible Studies

“The Insanity of Human Pride” LIVING IN BABYLON: The Book of Daniel

February 25, 2024February 24, 2024 Loring Schultz

“As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’” Daniel 4:30 NLT

A godless society provides the right environment for seeds of pride to grow. Without having God to answer to, it becomes all about me. All my accomplishments are of my doing. The successes I enjoy are through the skill sets I have developed over the years. They are the product of hard work securing a vast education and using that knowledge and experience along with my natural abilities and keenness. Such rationalization is applauded nowadays. There is nothing wrong with being successful. Higher education should be pursued, and a good strong work ethic is a positive trait and is looked upon favorably. But Christians need to be careful in developing skill sets to remember where our natural abilities come from, and who is guiding, leading, and helping us along the way. Jesus reminds us, “For apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn. 15:5)

In our continued weekly ‘Living in Babylon’ series, we come now to chapter 4 of the book of Daniel where see the insanity of human pride. Last week in chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue representing himself to be worshiped. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused, the king had them thrown into the fiery furnace. To Nebuchadnezzar’s amazement the Lord God sent His angel to deliver them from the flames. Nebuchadnezzar had a change of heart saying, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” (Dan. 3:28 NLT) He then made a decree that no one is to speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But in a pagan culture, a change of heart is centered on the power of a god and not recognition of the true God. Nebuchadnezzar had another change of heart.

Nebuchadnezzar praises God again in chapter 4 by saying, “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His kingdom will last forever, his rule through all generations.” (Dan. 4:2-3 NLT) The king has another dream that troubled him and calls for the wise men to interpret it. These are the same men who couldn’t help the king in chapter 2 and cannot help him now by interpreting his dream. Nebuchadnezzar then calls for his ace in the hole, Daniel, who has accurately interpreted his dream concerning the statue with the head of gold. Daniel does indeed give the king an accurate interpretation to his latest dream, one that troubles Daniel as well.

I’m sure we have all heard the saying, ‘pride comes before a fall.’ Perhaps some of us witnessed such a disaster. Daniel was not only going to witness one, but he would be the one to inform the king that it would happen to him and in the most humiliating way. Although the king had praised God’s wonderful signs; the seeds of pride within Nebuchadnezzar’s mind have been sprouting and growing now for some time. The Lord would tell the king through the dream Daniel interpreted that he would be disposed from his kingdom by a period of insanity that would come upon him due to his pride. He would be driven out into fields and live like a wild animal for seven years until he came to senses and acknowledges that God rules over all the kingdoms of world. And so it happened, “As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom.’” (Dan. 4:30-31 NLT) The king was driven out by his pride.

Living in modern day Babylon has its challenges for Christians. The sin of pride is certainly evident in our society. But we must also acknowledge that pride is at the root of all sin. Christians must be careful not be influenced by the culture and allow the seeds of pride to find fertile soil in our hearts and minds ready for planting. Lest we join in the insanity of human pride.

Read: Daniel 4 NLT – Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about a Tree – Bible Gateway