Originally Aired On: Friday, July 21, 2006
WHEN DOES PRIDE BECOME ARROGANCE?
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Friday, July 21, 2006
"Love is not puffed up" (1 Corinthians 13:4).
IDEA: Pride puffs us up; love builds others up.
PURPOSE: To help us understand the nature of pride and what it does in human relations.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4 we read, “Love is not puffed up.”
That raises two questions:
What do you think it means?
Why is it wrong?
I. Is pride always wrong?
Pride is not really feelings of self-worth.
A worker who doesn’t take pride in his workmanship may turn out a shabby product.
Parents who don’t glow with pride when their child succeeds may not have a proper appreciation for that child.
When I think about being puffed up, my first thought is of a souffle or a Yorkshire Pudding or a plate of delectable cream puffs. They had better be puffed up or the cook has failed.
How does pride as a vice differ from pride in accomplishments?
II. When Paul writes, “love is not puffed up,” he means that love is not proud. He is talking about conceit or an estimate of ourselves that makes us arrogant around other people.
Have you ever met many people who will admit that they are arrogant and proud?
We detest it when we see it in other people, but we hardly ever think that we are guilty of it.
Not all pride shows up in arrogance. Sometimes it shows up when we are super-sensitive. We want to be catered to.
Pride is at work when we hold onto grudges.
Pride shows itself whenever we’re preoccupied with our own needs and our own importance.
Pride is present if we refuse to share any feelings that may make us look human or less than super-human.