Pride asks, "How do others perceive me?" and, "What impression am I making on other people?" When there is pride in our lives, it makes us self-conscious. Pride wants to be praised.
While we all need encouragement, only God deserves praise.
God wants us to have a healthy self-image based on His unconditional love for us.
Pride can blind us to any feeling of gratitude toward the Lord. Unchecked, it will ultimately separate us from God and those we love. The only cure for pride is surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ—making a commitment to Him and then choosing to let the Spirit of God work in our lives on a daily basis.
After David was anointed king over Israel, he and his men brought the ark of God back to Jerusalem (see 1 Chronicles 15). David appointed musicians and singers, and the ark of God entered the city with shouts, trumpets, and the playing of harps. In exuberance and excitement, David took off his royal robe and began to dance before the Lord (see 2 Samuel 6:14). But his wife Michal watched and later criticized David's actions. She was proud and thought David's actions were not kingly (see 2 Samuel 6:20).
Placing undue importance on our self-image and the opinions of others are just two of the distractions that Satan uses to discourage us. However, God wants us to have a healthy self-image based on His unconditional love for us. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we become children of the King of kings and are made members of His royal family.
Praise frees you from the hold of pride. David was not concerned about his image. He was praising God. He was focused on the Lord and not on himself. Are you concerned about your appearance before others? Don't withhold your worship of the Lord because of fear of what others will think.
Prayer: Holy Father, I want to be so satisfied in You that I do not need the praise of others. Today I humble myself before You, that You may receive glory, honor, and worship from me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble" (Daniel 4:37).
Learn more in Dr. Michael Youssef's sermon Empowered by Praise, Part 3: LISTEN NOW
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