Isaiah 2:6-12 – Understanding Biblical Pride: Roots in Wealth…

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Isaiah 2:6-12

(6) Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. (7) Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: (8) Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: (9) And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. (10) Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. (11) The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. (12) For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
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The same principle appears everywhere in the Bible: Pride has its roots in a feeling of wealth or accomplishment. “Wealth” does not necessarily mean money, although that is included. Remember Helel and his intelligence, beauty, and power. But there are other things like position, skill, natural ability, social status, knowledge, strength – even hair, clothing, a house, or an automobile. The list of things that can motivate this elevated feeling is virtually endless.

In the New Testament, pride is in the Greek, huperephanos, which means “to show oneself above.” It does not imply one that others look up to, but one who stands on his own self-created pedestal. Psychologists tell us that pride is actually a mark of inner inferiority and uncertainty, and such people compensate by over-emphasizing and flaunting the qualities they think they possess that will cause others to think well of them.

This feeling of wealth or strength in a given area is highly relative because each person can set his own standard of comparison, regardless of his real accomplishments. Like the sluggard who in his conceit is wiser than seven men to render a reason (Proverbs 26:16), we are able to promote ourselves in areas that we think we are good in.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Faith (Part Six)