Table of Contents
Meaning of the pride of life
In the 1st epistle of John, while teaching believers to abstain from the love of the world, John mentioned those things that constitute the world namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). On this occasion, the pride of life was mentioned for the first and the last time in the Bible. However, the concept of the pride of life is very ancient and it preceded the term itself; for we see many examples of it throughout the Old Testament.
The pride of life is the sinful act of being arrogant, boastful, or showing off what one is, has, or has achieved. The pride of life is founded on achievements or accomplishments, pedigree or ancestry, position, and one’s connections. Those who are proud of life rely on their great achievements, their high positions or status, their aristocratic or royal ancestry, or their connections to people of power. For this reason, the pride of life consists of seeing others as inferior because of one’s achievements, personality, or status. The pride of life consists of feeling more important than others because of one’s beauty, fame, riches, position, etc. It also consists of lording yourself over others because of one office, accomplishment, wealth, etc.
Signs of the pride of life
In our daily lives, we can easily identify the pride of life; for those who are proud of life tend to boast of their ancestry, family connections, great offices, honorable acquaintances, and the like. Such people are glory-seeking and have high thoughts about themselves because of their position or high standard of living. Also, they tend to show off wealth, clothes, houses, furniture, equipment, and manner of living in order to earn honor and the respect of others. Moreover, they excessively enjoy their position in life and have a desire for praise, places of dignity, high titles, honor, glory, and the splendor of the world.
Examples of the Pride of Life in the Bible
Today, some professing Christians are so puffed-up and feel too big on account of what they possess or what they have accomplished in life; or they talk about their achievements and make it sound like they have done it all by themselves without God; or they make others feel like they are inferior to them because of their religious or political position, educational level; etc.; these are all expressions of the pride of life. The Bible has more examples to give us:
1. Nebuchadnezzar was guilty of Pride of Life
According to biblical records, Nebuchadnezzar II is one of those found guilty of the pride of life. Though Nebuchadnezzar was not an Israelite, through Daniel Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he was well acquainted with the knowledge of God. Daniel made him understand that all his accomplishments in life; the victories he had had in wars, his vast kingdom and the riches thereof, etc. are all from God, not by his strength. God, therefore, expected humility of heart and gratitude from Nebuchadnezzar. However, he failed to render both to God.
One day, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his palace in Babylon, and when he saw the magnificence of the city of Babylon, he was moved, out of pride and arrogance, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty (Daniel 4:30 ESV)?” Then, seeing that Nebuchadnezzar did not give glory to Him but prided himself on his accomplishments, God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar for his pride – his pride of life – by turning him into a beast to humble him.
2. Haman was guilty of the Pride of Life
When we talk about the pride of life, Haman is guilty at every turn. Once he sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh and recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king.
He also added, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king (Esther 5:12)”. Haman was too bossy, glory-seeking, and felt too big for he was the king’s most important official and wanted everybody to kowtow to him and wanted to get all the attention when he passed by.
However, all he had was not enough for him; he wanted one more thing. All the people in the kingdom respected and bowed down to Haman except one man, Mordecai the Jew. Since he could not get Mordecai to bow down to him and give him the attention he wanted, he became greatly offended and hated Mordecai and Mordecai’s people, the Jews. He devised a plan and wanted to illuminate Mordecai by hanging and also wanted to destroy all the Jews. But his plans failed and he was hanged in Mordecai’s stead – he and his sons. Reference Esther 5:9-14
3. King Hezekiah was guilty of the Pride of Life
Hezekiah was a good king. He feared the Lord and was faithful to him, unlike his father King Ahaz. Because of this, God abundantly blessed him and he was exceedingly prosperous. However, when prosperity and abundance came his way, pride and recklessness set in. Hezekiah fell sick and would have died had he not cried to the Lord. God listened to him and gave him fifteen years more to live.
Later after recovery, Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. Then Hezekiah, driven by the pride of life – the pride of what he had and had accomplished all over the years, welcomed them gladly and took them around to show them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah. After learning that the king had shown the envoy from Babylon everything in his kingdom – all his treasures and achievements, Isaiah prophesied to him. He said that someday the Babylonians would invade and loot his kingdom of all the treasures accumulated since the days of his fathers and some of his descendants would be taken away to become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Reference Isaiah 39:1-8
As you can see all the stories that had to do with the pride of life had a sad ending. Even for good people like Hezekiah, the pride of life brought bad repercussions on him and his descendants. The pride of life profits nothing but humility pays. We have to beware of the pride of life as Christians.