You Just Cannot Sustain It

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God has given us the Proverbs, a book of counsel that is intended to impart divine wisdom (2:6) to us. It behooves us, and I say this to my own heart as to yours, to read the Proverbs, then read them again, think upon what they say, meditate on them, and put them to memory. For they will provide that counsel that we need as we go about our time on this earth. They far surpass any counsel that any psychiatrist or psychologist could ever put forth.

For our Scripture, I draw your attention to this particular Proverb,

“A man’s pride will bring him low . . .” (Proverbs 29:23a)

Anyone who has read the Proverbs surely knows that the matter of pride is not well-spoken of. And it is easy to understand that when one considers the Bible as a whole.

The dictionary defines pride this way, “a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority; conceit; arrogance.”

The Hebrew word is “gaavah,” and in regards to our text, its usage, and man’s depraved nature, it speaks of, “arrogance . . . haughtiness . . . highness . . . swelling.” (Strong)

Man, separated from God his Creator by his sin, manifests all of these characteristics in one form or another; and thus, pride is evident in him and in laymen’s terms, that is not good.

For the counsel of God to each one of us is this, “. . . pride will bring (you) low . . .”

A “high or inordinate opinion of one’s own” self will lead to placing an unhealthy importance on one’s self. To differing degrees pride is in all of us, some having an inordinate amount of it while others not seeming to have as much.

Pride is so very dangerous to the soul. So very dangerous to one’s eternal destiny. In a sinful state, it is a most destructive force to man . . . and it “. . . will bring him low . . .”

Take note that I know a man who reveled in pride, being found to be “arrogant,” having a “swelling” persona about himself. He was of a mind that he had “merit” and was due attention from others; “haughty” may not say enough about him. He thought of himself in a puffed-up manner, and he lived with the idea that he would lift himself up to a very high plain of notoriety in life.

Then one great and wonderful day this man came under conviction, brought there by the powerful Word of God. He came to know that he was a sinner in need of salvation . . . salvation from self. Self, you see, is that which Jesus came to save us from.

For self was that entity, filled with such a haughty spirit, that if this man had not come to the conviction of his sin and his need for Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior . . . he would surely have been brought “. . . low . . .”

You see, according to the counsel of God, if one continues through his or her formative years and into adulthood choosing pride as one’s driving force . . . they will find that

. . . you just cannot sustain it! Something, whether it be a failure or a disease or death itself . . . no matter what it may be, will eventually make that evident. “Pride” is just not sustainable . . . but rather “. . . will bring (you) low . . .”

Take note of divine counsel, the Creator to the created, for pride is as the Proverb states, a destructive force.