Welcome to July! This month to us by the word of the Lord is our month of HIGHER GROUND and our text scriptures are: Rev.4:1 and Galatians 2:2

Rev 4:1  “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”

Gal.2:2 “And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain”.

A meditation on our text scripture would hatch the following understanding to us:

1.     Higher ground means promotion and it is initiated by God. John said he heard a voice from heaven which told him to step up. Apostle Paul said he went up by revelation. By the way, revelation here means knowledge revealed to Him by the Lord.

2.     For you to hear the voice from heaven that will take you up, you must be in the spirit. This was the experience of the Apostle John. He said he was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day, and then he received a revelation in which he saw an open door in heaven. Remember, the door must be opened by God because He is the one with the key of David that opens a door that no man can shut [see Rev.3:7]. Then He heard the Lord say to him that he should ascend or step up [“come up hither”].

3.     Being in the spirit means having a spiritual mindset or being spiritual [Gal.5:16; 1Cor.2:13-14; Rm.8:7-9; Rm.12:1-2]. We are told that if we remain natural as believers, we cannot receive the things of the spirit. One of the things of the spirit is stepping up to higher ground and this is what God is set to do for us this month of July as we wait on him.

4.     For you to be in the spirit, you must fulfill certain conditions as a believer. These conditions are: Prayer especially praying in the spirit or in tongues, reading and meditating on the word to receive revelation from the Holy Spirit, studying the word, and doing the word of God by giving ourselves wholly to it.

For the above reason among others, we shall be looking at a series this month I have titled: SPIRITUALITY VERSUS CARNALITY. We are going to see how spirituality can help us wait on the Lord until we hear him speak to us and then we can step up by the revelation He gives to us. I believe God that after these series of teaching this month, we would know how to change levels from glory to glory on a regular basis with God.

once again, I welcome you to the month of July our month of HIGHER GROUND. For more information about our ministry and resource materials, please check out our blog at www.jointheirsfamily.blogspot.com. and my memoirs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com. Presently, you may not be able to access our website as it is under reconstruction, but you can visit my face book page and benefit from our resources by liking HEALING AND RESTORATION TIME WITH PASTOR ALERO NANNA and KINGDOM JOINT HEIRS FAMILY CHURCHES under alero.nanna1@facebook.com.

CARNALITY VERSUS SPIRITUALITY

Carnality is the way of thinking of the natural man. Another word for carnal is flesh. In other words, carnality is a flesh ruled way of living. When a Christian refuses to grow up spiritually, he or she would be carnal. This explains why some Christians live like unbelievers. Another word used to describe carnal Christians is baby Christians or unspiritual. In 1cor.3:1-3, while reproving the Corinthian Christians for their carnality, Apostle Paul had this to say to them:

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

From this text of scripture, we learn the following about carnality and spirituality.

1.     Carnality is the opposite of spirituality and as such they do not live together in the same place.

2.     Carnality is the demonstration of the Character traits of the world like envying, strife, divisions etc.

3.     Carnality is a state of being where a Christian walks as a mere man.

4.     The carnal minded cannot receive strong bible based teachings that can help to straighten their character and as such cannot bear the fruit of the spirit. Heb.5:11-14 says:

“Heb 5:11  Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

This explains the existence of many gullible believers today running around seeking miracles and healings when they can step up to the higher ground when they can work the miracles and administer the healings.

Another scripture that brings out the distinction between carnality and spirituality clearly is Gal.5:16-22. That text reads:

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Those who walk in the spirit are not carnal like I have already pointed out. They therefore bear the fruit of the spirit as shown in Gal. 5:22-23. When you live like this, you cannot be bound by any law. Carnal believers on the other hand, manifest the works of the flesh or human or sinful nature listed in Galatians 5:19-21.

The good news here however is that the Carnal believer can change and become a spiritual one. He or she is only a decision away from the change. The story of the bible that best illustrates this is the story of the Prodigal son told by the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 15:11-32. From this story we learn the following lessons:

1.     The carnal believer never wants to serve, but wants the blessing. Because it is a service habit which can only be promoted by spirituality that guarantees that we retain the blessing, a carnal believer cannot retain the blessing or increase the fruits of the blessing. As such, would waste it all on meaningless living.

2.     Carnality leads to the death of a man’s ability to release and maximize his potential as it cuts him off his source which would have guaranteed that he stays filled with all the spiritual resources required to live abundantly.

3.     When carnality empties a man, he ceases to enjoy favor and so he comes to want.

4.     The point of want is God’s mercy being expressed in the hope that the situation will move him to repent. If he comes to himself which is the new man in Christ and repents, the father will take him back and restore him.

5.     The prodigal son went home and his father took him back. Note how the father described his situation in verse 32 of Luke 15:

“It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”

 Understand that to be carnally minded is DEATH and LOSS! We shall say more on this when we look at the consequences of Carnality and the benefits of Spirituality.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING TRAPPED BY PRIDE pt. 1

THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING TRAPPED BY PRIDE

From what we have been looking at so far, it cannot be denied that pride is a vice; no matter the cloth of ideology people try to dress it up with. The seriousness of this vice is seen in its consequences which we shall be looking at in this chapter.

PRIDE RESULTS IN THE DESTRUCTION AND FALL OF ITS VICTIM

Anyway we look at it, pride leads only one way; downwards! This is why the bible says in Prov.16:18:

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

A fall implies a reduction in value. This is nothing graceful at all. Better put; it implies a disgrace or stepping out of grace. In the Good News Bible version, Prov.11:2 says people who are proud will soon be disgraced. This text of scripture in the International Standard version says when pride comes, disgrace accompanies it. This happens when God does not extend his grace to a person anymore. In Jas.4:6, we read:

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Also, Apostle Peter reiterates this principle in his letter to the Church in 1Pet.5:5 where he said:

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble”.

Here, we see Apostle Peter making a very strong case for humility to the Church by showing them that a precondition for the grace of God to find expression in the life of a person is humility. Humility is the opposite of pride because a person cannot be humble and proud at the same time. Pride represents the presence of satan in a person’s life while humility represents the presence of Jesus Christ in the life of a person. Both do not live together in one place. When God wants to engrace a person and finds pride in that life, he stops and rather resists the person, but takes the grace to the life of another person in which he finds humility. Consequently, proud people meet with a lot of disappointment. They could have great expectations and their expectations are cut off because of divine resistance. I do not want to be found in this place and I believe the same for you dear reader.

Destruction on the other hand is the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired. In this connection therefore, to be destroyed is to be brought to a place where one cannot fulfill his or her God given purpose at all as a result of failure in every or any area of one’s life. For instance, every time the president of our country is traveling on road to make any journey especially to carry out his assignment as the president, security agents go ahead of him to announce his coming and clear the road for him so that he would be able to pass through unhindered and protected from being stopped by any means. These security agents are called escorts. In the same way, the escort for the destruction of a man to guarantee that the man is destroyed unhindered is pride in the heart of the man. This explains why prideful people see wise counsel as a disturbance and they would do everything to avoid yielding to wise counsel. The result is that the wise counsel that would have prevented their destruction would be knocked out of the way by the escort called pride so as to seal the unhindered destruction of the victim of pride. This is why pride is a trap that holds its victim down until it destroys him or her. A good example of a man trapped by pride is Pharaoh in the red sea. He pursued Israel to the red sea in spite of all the wonders God did in Egypt just to get him to comply with divine directives to let Israel go. Unfortunately for Egypt, their leader was a proud man and the pride of his heart moved him to go after Israel with the intention to bring them back to Egypt against God’s plan and God waited for them at the red sea. A right thinking person who sees the sea parting for his former victims to cross over on dry land considering all that he had previously experienced by the hand of their God including the death of every first born in their land, would have known when to stop. Pharaoh was too blinded by pride to know when to stop, instead he ordered his army to go after Israel. Each time I read that scripture in Exodus 14, I never cease to wonder how on earth Pharaoh could have imagined that God would work a miracle for his benefit when his intention was to destroy God’s people. As soon as Israel passed over on dry ground, God ordered the sea to return to normal while the host of Pharaoh was in the middle of the sea trying to cross over on dry ground. They were completely destroyed and Egypt was stripped from the most influential to the most vulnerable nation on earth in that day and Pharaoh had to go back to Egypt without an army. What a shame! See Ex.14:13-31.

PRIDE PROMOTES CONTENTION

Contention means the act of competing as for profit or reward. It is synonymous with quarrelling and physical combat as though the parties involved in it have something to gain if they had the upper hand in the dispute. One of the most devastating enemies of a team is contention as it brings division which is contrary to the goal of every team. A team is supposed to be united to accomplish a common goal. The existence of contention in a team spells the failure of that team in the accomplishment of their intended goal. The team could be a marriage, a family, a Church, a School or any corporate body or institution. The existence of pride in the group especially in the heart of the group influencer or influencers, spells doom to their common objective.  In Prov.13:10, we read:

“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom”.

From this text we gather that at the base of every unhealthy competition in a team is pride. The International Standard version of this text reads:

“Arrogance only brings quarreling, but those receiving advice are wise.”

The good new version says arrogance causes nothing but trouble. From the second part of this text of scripture we now understand why proud people cannot take advice. In fact, they tend to avoid relating with anyone that would give them useful advice. This is what happened with King Rehoboam the son of King Solomon as we saw in an earlier chapter of this book. The result is that his kingdom fell and was downsized to two instead of twelve tribes. This was indeed a great reduction considering the influence wielded by his progenitors.

Another means by which contention founded on pride can destroy the harmony of a team is that it causes strife and where there is strife; there is confusion and every evil work. The Apostle James makes us understand in James 3:16 that where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. Strife which is born out of pride always results in envy. Envy is the anger at the good fortune of another that drives the envious party to do something to stop their good fortune. This is why where strife exists, there will be envy and the result is confusion and every evil work. This has led to the destruction of many families and institutions. So the vice of pride is something to be treated like cancer; the victim must make every effort to see it uprooted from his or her life.

Several years ago when I was in secondary School, I had an experience which brought this situation out clearly to me. I happened to know two sisters; unknown to me, the younger one was jealous of the elder sister for no apparent reason I could see. One day the younger sister came to me and said her mum wanted to see me at their place and that her sister was going to confront me with some questions and that I should not answer a word. I was wondering what was going on; but out of respect for the mum, I went to see her and when I got there, to my amazement, the elder sister furiously began to harass me and even got physical claiming I said certain uncomplimentary stories about her one of which was that I saw her driving her father’s car to some questionable places with some undesirable characters. I was shocked because in the first place, I never saw such a thing and while I may not lay claims to having always been truthful in my life, this lie was too much for me to tell and in my shock, I forgot that the younger sister told me not to say a word and I burst out that how can I saw such a thing when I never saw such things. Thankfully, her aunt was around who did not share the younger sister’s sentiments and she resolved the issue and told me to go back to school.

I was so naïve then (because such situations do not exist in my own family) that I did not even know what happened until several years later; I believe up to about twelve years later. This incident happened in 1982 and I got to realize the implication of it sometime in 1994! I do not know what became of the sisters but I can assure you that if their mother did not handle that incident wisely, it is only a question of time before the whole family will be torn apart by the envy of one person and I believe this envy was rooted in pride.   

PRIDE CLOTHES ITS VICTIM WITH EMPTINESS AND SHAME

In Prov.11:2, we read:

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.”

Another translation of this same text of scripture puts it this way:

“when swelling and pride comes, then emptiness and shame come also, …”

In other words, the existence of pride in the life of a person announces a future of emptiness and shame. What does emptiness mean? It means the quality of being valueless or futile; in other words, being stripped of any worth or value. Having no ability whatsoever to add value to any one, place or thing; have no productive contribution to make in any life or institution. This is born out of the state of containing nothing to give. I will liken this person to a keg full of water that got punctured and the water in it gradually leaked out of the keg until the container became empty and ceased to serve any useful purpose like holding liquid of any kind. In the same way, pride punctures a person’s bank of resources and gradually empties the person of resources until the person is stripped of what little contribution they can make to the point that they have no value left to add to anyone. This explains why prideful people always seek to receive and never make any effort to give because they know that all such efforts will be futile knowing they have nothing to give. People cannot give what they do not have. Pride is so bad that it can reduce a rich man to poverty of a most unimaginable proportion.

Shame on the other hand is a state of dishonor or a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt. This is why Jesus Christ taught that when people attend weddings for instance, they should not seek seats in the place of honor because if out of pride, they do, they may later be told by the host to move to a lower place of honor for a more dignified person to sit and they would begin with shame to go for the lower place; that it would be more honorable for them to first take the lower place and later be told to take a higher seat from there. Then he set out the principle of exaltation here that whoever humbles himself shall be exalted and whoever exalts himself shall be abased. These are his words in Lk.14:8-11:

“When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

This is a good example of pride resulting in shame. No wonder Apostles James and Peter tell us that we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and in due season, he shall exalt us. See Jas.4:10 and 1Pet.5:6.

The story below paints the picture of pride resulting in emptiness and shame very clearly:

When I was in secondary school when we were in form two, after the second term, we were placed in classes A to D according to how well we did. Those with the best result were put in form 2D whereas those that followed were put in form 2C and down like that. Two girls had an exchange one day and one of them was in form 2D and the other in 2C. The one in 2D was mocking the one in 2C that her result was substandard to hers that was why she was in C and the one in C replied that that 2D girl got there by mistake and that by the promotion exam, their places were going to be adjusted and the one in 2D now would come to 3C while she would go to 3D and it came to pass as the girl said it and this second girl now in 3D did not stop at that, she went on to get the best result in one of the subjects in form 3 and the other girl never caught up with her again.

I believe that both girls were brilliant, but what happened to the prideful girl was that pride punctured the substance in her and brought her under the curse of emptiness.

PRIDE STRIPS ITS VICTIM OF DIVINE FAVOUR

Favour can be defined as an act of gracious kindness; an advantage to the benefit of someone or something. It is an inclination to approve; a feeling of being favorably regarded. It is the means by which God makes His blessings visible in the life of the blessed. In Exodus 3:21, God promised to give favour to the Children of Israel so that when they leave Egypt after their four hundred years slavery, they would not go empty but leave with substance. God’s will as shown in Ps.5:12 is to bless the righteous and encompass them with favour as with a shield. No matter how good a person is at their task, without the favour of God, the opportunity to stand before kings would never come and all their efforts to succeed would be in futility because favor is the magnet that attracts blessings to the beneficiary and it is God given. If the righteous however steps into pride, he/she will meet with divine resistance and be stripped of grace. In Jas. 4:6, we read:

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

The Apostle Peter reiterates this principle in 1Pet.5:5-6 where he says:

      “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

Grace can be defined as divine ability and divine favour. Now if a person walks in pride, God will personally resist him/her and supervise his/her destruction by stripping such a person of grace which is the foundation for productive living and when a person is not productive, he/ she is said to be barren and cannot add any value because they would be void of the substance required of them to add value. This is a very sorry state to be because if God resists you, your case is hopeless except you repent in time. The bible says seek the Lord while he may be found. So a time comes in a person’s destiny when the Lord can no more be found; this is when you cross over to eternity. Please do seek the Lord now. If you are not yet born again because you believe that you are better that some Christians you know, you have issues with pride and God is resisting you. This explains all the hardships and calamities in your life and family in spite of your “goodness”. This is why you are the constant victim of witches and occult powers without anyone helping you. This explains why your promotion has been hanging for a long time even though you are very diligent. If you however repent today and give your life to Christ, all that will change and you will enjoy the grace of God.

Sadly today, even some Pastors and other ministers of the gospel are experiencing divine resistance for this same reason of pride. Some have resorted to adding titles upon titles to make up for their inadequacies because they lack the substance required to deliver on their job as a result of lack of grace. They speak the word but it makes no impact because like Gehazi, the rod would not work in their hands (See 2Kings 4:29-36). Some in their desperation have even gone to the extent of seeking evil powers to achieve divine purpose. You cannot use the devil’s method to further the cause of God; all you need to do is humble yourself, repent and learn and let God exalt you when He considers you due for exaltation.

Recently, as I write this book, a friend of mine told me the story of a highly placed Pastor who was having an affair with a Church member living with them because of the loss of her parents and she had nowhere to go. He had made her abort so many pregnancies that the last one cost her her reproductive ability. When my friend confronted this Pastor on the issue, he denied it; eventually, the matter came into the open and the Pastor’s wife left him and his ministerial life went down the drains; NO MORE GRACE! From the way this story went, this behavior of the Pastor was not new and this girl living with them was not the only strange woman he was involved with; I guess that was the cheapest one he could find so he made nonsense of her destiny because she either could not or would not cry out in time.

God stripped him of grace and he was brought to disgrace because he would not open up his weakness to his wife and repent when he should have done so. A sad but true story showing the seriousness of this vice of pride; it brings a person to a place where God would personally resist him or her. The bible says if God be for us who can be against us? I want to say: “If God turns against us, who can be for us?” It is therefore very safe and wise to avoid the wrath of God by humbling one’s self under God.

THE FUEL FOR PRIDE

A fuel is a substance that empowers or provides energy for combustion. Just like petrol or kerosene or gas can be used to power engines, stoves or cookers, there are certain circumstances that can power pride in the life of a victim of pride and these include: position of influence, possession, knowledge and a personal overestimation of the victim or the flattery of other people. 

POSITION OF INFLUENCE: we see a very clear example of this in the book of Esther in the life of Haman who was promoted for no apparent reason except on the ground of sentiments that perhaps he was a friend of the king. As soon as this happened, he became over bloated in his opinion of himself and expected everyone occupying a lesser position than him in the kingdom to bow to him. His passion to be acknowledged degenerated to the point of what can best be described as insanity because that is the only explanation that can be given for his obsession to wipe out the Jewish people as a whole because a Jew refused to bow to him. In Esther 3:1-6, we read:

      “After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.

Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.

And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.

And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.”

From this text of scripture we can observe that the rage resulting from pride can lead to a very destructive obsession. Hamman did not just stop at dealing with Mordecai but decided to exterminate the whole of the Jewish people. He also did not stop at handling the matter physically, he employed sorcery to carry out his diabolic plan. In Esther 3:7 we are told that on a daily basis for a whole year, Haman was consulting oracle to be able to get negative supernatural help to exterminate the Jews. The text reads:

“In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.”

This is what is going on in some offices and as you read this book; you may even be a target of an unknown enemy whose pride has driven him or her to the point of obsession with your destruction. Such a person is willing to do anything to see you destroyed and if you let them, they would get you but you shall not be caught in their web in Jesus’ name! I believe this is why it was necessary for the Israelites to engage the force of a three day fast to combat the situation. Haman was not acting in human strength; his obsession drove him to engage evil terrestrial unseen forces. If you are experiencing this kind of thing in your place of work, school or anywhere you find yourself, it is no time to take things easy, also engage the force of the word of God and prayer and possibly fasting to combat it because pride is such a wicked spirit that it can drive a person to envy and eventually murder. Sadly, we see things like this happening even in families and you wonder at what point they lost the innocent childhood love they once shared.

I recently heard the story of one Pastor in my Country who was killed by another Pastor for winning a contract he desired and lost. Another story is told of a Pastor who was killed about four years ago at the time of writing this book for a similar reason. At the bottom line of every jealousy and envy is pride because both envy and jealousy are born out of a feeling of “why not me instead of this other person.” The reason for that is an over bloated self-image. 

In our text scripture we see that Haman got into this prideful situation as a result of being conferred with an office beyond his level of maturity. He became arrogant or should I say, his arrogance became amplified by his new office and it degenerated to an obsession to see the Jews exterminated and he destroyed himself and his family in the process. 

POSSESSION: It is often said that some people change and become very proud after becoming materially prosperous. I do not hold this stance because I see wealth or material prosperity as an amplifier of your person and interests. A proud person is proud whether he is rich or poor. However, when he is poor, he has to feign humility to enable him feed his stomach at least. As soon as that state is taken care of, the real person shows up. Usually, people who become proud because of possession get their possessions by questionable means in most cases; not all cases. Going back to our example of Haman in the book of Esther, it is not farfetched to observe that he was manipulating the king by sorcery because he did not approach the king until he got clearance of the date set by the evil terrestrial spirits he had trusted in for the destruction of the Jews. His success in persuading the king to sign such a wicked decree and the king’s decision to not see any of his wives for thirty days shows an unseen enemy working behind the scene. Even though Haman did not know that Esther was a Jew, the evil spirits knew and tried to play her out of the scene, but God checkmated them when the Jews engaged the spiritual force of a three day dry fast!

Haman’s possession fuelled pride is seen in his offer of a lot of money into the king’s treasury to carry out the king’s decree born out of his manipulation of the king by sorcery and fair speech. In Esther 3:9, we read:

“If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.”

From this text we can see how far a man can be driven by pride. He was willing to spend so much money to fulfill his lust to see the Jews destroyed because Mordecai refused to massage his ego! He ended up destroying himself and his possession could not save him then because God got involved!  

A good example of this from the bible is Lucifer whose heart was lifted up in pride because of the beauty and musical grace bestowed on him by the Lord and he decided to leave his place as an angel to compete with the most high who created him. This was the introduction of evil and so he became known as the devil. We see this account in Ezekiel 28:13-17 thus:

“Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (emphasis mine).

From the last verse in our quoted text here, we see that Lucifer became prideful as a result of his beauty. Beauty is a possession which is a gift from God. Lucifer should not have forgotten the source and purpose of the beauty he had received. He got carried away as many get carried away these days forgetting that everything within time is for a season. Once the season passes, they become irrelevant. Being proud because of possession is taking a stance that your possessions are greater than you. Physical beauty will pass away with use (the normal wear and tear) and then what becomes of you after that? If you get married to a person for their good looks for instance, you will quickly realize that good looks do not sustain a marriage when their character does not measure up. As time goes on, you will not even notice how good looking they are any more, so do not dehumanize yourself by exalting possession over people in your life. 

KNOWLEDGE: In 1Cor.8:1 Apostle Paul makes us understand that one can become arrogant as a result of having much knowledge and that for knowledge to bring about adding value to others, it must be tampered with love. The text reads:

“… we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”

People who are prideful as a result of what they know usually manifest this trait in impatience with people less knowledgeable and anger and jealousy at people more knowledgeable. This is why it is very important to walk in love because the first manifestation of love as we are taught by 1Cor.13:4 is patience followed by kindness. So love subdues the pride that results from knowledge because by its very nature, love must be patient and kind.

AN OVER BLOATED SELF-IMAGE: This is the very definition of pride. This can result from self-deceit or the flattery of sycophants around the victim. A leader for instance; who surrounds himself with sycophants would likely fall into this class of prideful people. People like this do not like to hear the truth; they want to hear what they erroneously believe to be the truth. In the book of 1Kings 12 we see a good example of this in the story of Rehoboam the son of Solomon who succeeded Solomon as king over Israel and Judah. On his coronation ceremony, the people requested that he lightened the burden placed on them by Solomon and he gave them time to come back for his decision on that. I believe this was a straight forward matter where he could have made a decision on the spot if he wanted to be reasonable. Yet he delayed because he did not really want to do the right thing but needed to engage group psychology for his folly. This explains why he turned down the wise counsel of his father’s advisers and chose to pitch his tent with the counsel of the young ignorant men like himself. The result was that he lost ten of the twelve tribes of Israel to Jeroboam. Israel was never the same after that dumb decision of this prideful ignorant young king.

He overestimated himself when he believed the flattery of his friends that he was tougher than his father when in actual fact, he was a very weak leader who needed the support of his friends to make a dumb decision.

If you are not yet born again, you will easily fall into pride as that is your nature, but you can change that nature now by saying this prayer below and the Holy Spirit will take you up from there and you will be born again by the Spirit and receive the nature of God which cannot be trapped by pride. 

 If you just said this prayer, congratulations, you are now born again. I would like to send you a free e copy of our Believers' Guide to Growth to enable you understand your new life and learn how to grow into maturity in the faith. Please contact me and let me know you need this resource material at flourishinggirl@gmail.com.

SIGNS OF A PRIDEFUL DISPOSITION 2

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT SYNDROME: Another way a person demonstrates pride is by considering the good things in his or her life a product of personal achievement rather than the result of divine providence. In Jn.3:27-30, John the Baptist said:

“… a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him.

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John made this statement when some of his disciples came and told him that the Lord was baptizing on the other side of the Jordan. As a matter of fact, it was even the disciples of Jesus Christ that were doing the baptizing. John did not go to complain to God that he was the one with the mandate to baptize and question the fact that Jesus Christ was also doing the same thing. He simply acknowledged the fact that whatever a person gets comes from above. He acknowledged also that the grace to even conduct the baptism as he was doing was given from above. He then concluded by saying that the Lord must increase while he must decrease. This should be the attitude of every believer. This is why the Lord described him as a shining and burning light! Until the ‘I’ in a person decreases and Christ increases, such a person still has an issue with pride.

SEEKING FIRST TO RECEIVE BEFORE GIVING HONOUR: Another way a person demonstrates pride is by always waiting to receive greeting from others and consciously not making the move to greet first. As simple as this may look, it is a very serious issue that tells you that you believe others should answer to you and that you are not obligated to answer to any. Some even do this with the pretentious excuse that they are older than the person and as such should be greeted first. While this may apply by natural calculations, it is not an offence for an older person to greet a younger one first. Anyone who holds on strongly to this belief system will have issues at work where the boss is a younger person in age. You know that if you keep falling out with your boss all the time, you will be the worse for it. In fact, with a mindset like this, you are not likely to add any appreciable value to your organization and you will be edged out at the slightest opportunity without being missed. In Prov.16:18, we read:

            “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” 

Anyone with this kind of heart disposition should understand that it does not take anything from you to greet first whether the person you greet is older or younger than you. Like we are told from our quoted text here, pride precedes a fall so if you do not want to fall, avoid it.

MAKING AN IDOL OF ONE’S OPINION: Another way a person can demonstrate pride is by making an idol of their opinion. This is expressed in always desiring to win in arguments. While persistence in whatever good ideals you hold unto is a virtue, holding a view in extremity for egocentric reasons would only fit in with our description of pride. I have heard some Christian men make statements to the effect that they cannot give up their ego for anything and I fear for them because the first demand of discipleship is ego slaying. Some people even talk about massaging the ego of others. What does ego mean? Ego simply means self. I consider this in direct conflict with the word of God that places a demand of self-denial on anyone who wants to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should be careful to not allow the ways of the world form our thinking pattern. The bible tells us in Romans 12:2 to renew our minds. That text of Scripture reads:

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

It takes mind renewal to be able to decipher the will of God as the natural man can neither receive nor experience the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to him. It is better to give up one’s ego so as to be able to embrace the mindset of God than to be destroyed along with the rest of the world. The truth is that we are not always right because of the limitations of the human nature, but God is all wise and is always right. It is better to buy into His ideals than to have and hold on to our own limited ones which may be wrong. Some people go to the extreme of claiming that their ego is all they have left. In that case, it is best you drop it and receive the Lord Jesus Christ because you are really nothing in comparison to the Lord! He is the king of kings and Lord of lords; he is the author of Life. Finally, making an idol of one’s opinion can deny the person so doing the advantage of a sound advice that would have taken him or her to the next level in life.

UNCONTROLLABLE FITS OF RAGE: Another way pride is demonstrated is through the expression of uncontrollable fits of anger and rage. The reason such a person demonstrates this kind of anger is that things do not go his or her way. This is the devil’s behaviour. In Rev.12:7-12, we read:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,        and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and   strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of   their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

The devil wanted the throne of God but could not get it and when he was defeated, and could not have his way, he expressed his sentiments in an uncontrollable fit of rage which brought about a devastation of this world. Today, many destinies which would otherwise have grown to become glorious ones have been truncated by this vice. I once read of a famous celebrity who was told as a young person that he could become a man of global relevance through his sport, but would not get far if he did not deal with his temper. Thank God he heeded this advice and emerged a world renowned sport’s man. 

THE SECRET ANGER IN THE HEART WHEN ONE IS NOT ACKNOWLEGED: This is a most common symptom of pride that cuts across every group of people. In fact this is hidden and some people are very good actors in covering this type. Some other people are too crude to hide this feeling. Either way, it is the same thing before God. Anyone who has this kind of problem will have difficulty serving as they would not be able to handle the flexibility of changing positions for the accomplishment of responsibilities. By this, I mean once they receive a position from which to influence or lead, they cannot step down to a lower one for the general good so as to get things done in a corporate environment like a Church, place of work or a club. This is the attitude demonstrated by the Pharisees that made the Lord say that except our righteousness exceed theirs; we shall not enter the kingdom. Anyone caught in this trap will be offended if his name or her name is not announced in connection with a gift they give in Church. Another instance of this is common among ministers who would; as a matter of personal policy, never attend a program except they are called to minister there. I am not referring to a case where the said minister by virtue of his schedule cannot afford the time to attend such programs. I am talking about a situation when this minister is not too busy to attend and the program is relevant to him or her and it is conducted in his or her community of ministry.

I recall the uncontrollable fit of rage demonstrated to me by a fellow minister who was part of one of the programs we organized some time in 2003 as a result of an oversight to acknowledge his presence at the service. I was stunned and wondered where all that feeling of self-importance came from. Today, he is no more in the ministry. People with this kind of attitude never last in ministry because clearly, their conception of ministry is grossly impaired. 

Concerning this kind of attitude, Jesus has this to say:

“But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi” Mt.23:5-7

“When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”. Lk.14:8-11

From this second text of Scripture, we see that the attitude we are supposed to have is one of humility over and above self-importance as humility precedes honour. Apostle Peter in 1Pet.5:1-6 throws more light on this subject while exhorting the elders (Pastors) in his letter to them thus:

“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”