When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
Pride and Humility are polar opposites. You can’t be both proud and humble. At best it is either / or.
Pride, the proverbs tell us, will bring you disgrace. Think about that word DIS-grace. Most of us would want to receive grace in our life, certainly from God and most likely from others. But with pride comes DISgrace.
Why is this? The fruit of pride is destruction (Proverbs 16:18) and that destruction is ultimately at our own hand. Then, when you set yourself up to fall you can expect no compassion or grace from others. Why? You have sown self-importance, a “me first” attitude at the expense of others. And so you will reap DISgrace from others.
But humility is a pre-requisite for wisdom. Humility enables you to see things as they really are. Humility removes the goggles of distortion that self-important pride blinds you with.
It is not possible to be truly wise without walking in humility. Because humility guards us against the ever-rising tide of pride within our hearts that is seeking to take over and distort what we see and how we live with our own self-importance.
Pride will lead you to disgrace. But humility will open the door to wisdom.
PRAYER: Father, forgive me for my pride and self-important attitude. I humble myself before you and take the lowly place. I ask you for a sensitivity to my own pride that I might repent of it as soon as it arises. Thank you Father, Amen.