What is Pride ?

(adapted from sermon by Charles Spurgeon)

(This sermon was taken from The New Park Street Pulpit and was preached on Sunday evening, July 15, 1877)

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility ( Proverb 18:12)



Pride is a groundless thing. It stands on the sand. Worse than that, it puts its foot on the billows which yield beneath its tread. Worse still, it stands on bubbles, which soon must burst beneath its feet. Of all things pride has the worst foothold. It has no solid rock on earth whereon to place itself. We have reasons for almost everything, but we have no reason for pride.

Pride is a thing that should be unnatural to us, for we have nothing to be proud of. What is there in man of which he should glory? Our very creation is enough to humble us. What are we but creatures of today? Our frailty should be sufficient to lay us low, for we should be gone tomorrow. Our ignorance should tend to keep pride from our lips. What are we, but like the wild donkey’s colt which knows nothing? And our sins ought effectually to stop our mouths and lay us in the dust. Of all things in the world, pride toward God is that which has the very least excuse. It has neither stick nor stone whereon to build. Yet like the spider, it carries its own web in its bowels and can, of itself, spin that wherewith to catch its prey. It seems to stand upon itself for it has nothing beside whereon it can rest.

Pride is a brainless thing. It brings no profit with it. There is no wisdom in self-exaltation. Other vices have some excuse, for men seem to gain by them. Avarice, pleasure, lust, have some plea, but the man who is proud sells his soul cheaply. He opens wide the floodgates of his heart to let men see how deep is the flood within his soul. Then suddenly it flows out and all it gone—and all is nothing for one puff of empty wind, one word of sweet applause. The soul is gone and not a drop is left. In almost every other sin, we gather up the ashes when the fire is gone but here, what is left? The covetous man has his shining gold, but what has the proud man? He has less than he would have had without his pride and is no gainer whatever. Oh! Man, if you were as mighty as Gabriel and had all his holiness, still you should be an arrant fool to be proud, for pride would sink you from your angel station to the rank of devils, and bring you from the place where Lucifer, son of the morning, once dwelt, to take up your abode with hideous fiends in perdition.

Pride exalts its head and seeks to honor itself, but it is of all things most despised. It sought to plan crowns upon its brow, and so it has done. But its head was hot, and it put an ice crown there, and it melted all away. Poor pride has decked itself out finely sometimes. It has put on its most gaudy apparel and said to others, “How brilliant I appear!” But, ah! pride, like a harlequin, dressed in your bright colours, you are all the more fool for that. You are but a gazing stock for fools less foolish than yourself. You have no crown as you think you have, nothing solid and real, all is empty and vain. If you, O man, desire shame, be proud.

Pride is the maddest thing that can exist. It feeds upon its own vitals. It will take away its own life, that with its blood it may make a purple for its shoulders. It saps and undermines its own house that it may build its pinnacles a little higher, and then the whole structure tumbles down. Nothing proves men so mad as pride. For this they have given up rest, ease, and repose to find rank and power among men. For this they have dared to risk their hope of salvation—to leave the gentle yoke of Jesus, and go toiling wearily along the way of life—into the more of fell despair. Oh! Man, hate pride, flee from it, abhor it, let it not dwell with you. If you want to have a madman in your heart, embrace pride, for you shall never find one madder than he.

Pride is a protean thing. It changes it shape. It is all form in the world. You may find it in any fashion you may choose. You may see it in the beggar’s rags as well as in the rich man’s garment. It dwells with the rich and with the poor. The man without a shoe to his foot may be as proud as if he were riding in a chariot. Pride can be found in every rank of society—among all classes of men. Sometimes it is an Arminian and talks about the power of creature. Then it turns Calvinist and boasts of its fancied security—forgetful of the Maker who alone can keep our faith alive. Pride can profess any form of religion. It may be a Quaker and wear no collar to its coat. It may be a Churchman and worship God in splendid cathedrals. It may be a Dissenter and go to the common meeting house. It is one of the most Catholic things in the world. It attends all kinds of chapels and churches. Go where you will, you will see pride. It comes up with us to the house of God. It goes with us to our houses. It is found on the mart and the exchange, in the streets and everywhere.

Pride has ten thousand shapes. It is not always that stiff and starched gentleman that you picture. It is a vile, creeping, insinuating thing that will twist itself like a serpent into our heart. It will talk humility, and prate about being dust and ashes. I have known men talk about their corruption most marvelously, pretending to be all humility, while at the same time they were the proudest wretches that could be found this side the gulf of separation. Oh, my friends, you cannot tell how many shapes pride will assume. Look sharp about you and your will be deceived by it, and when you think you are entertaining angels, you will find you have been receiving devils unawares.

The seat of pride is the heart. The true throne of pride everywhere is the heart of man. If we desire by God’s grace to put down pride, the only way is to begin with the heart. We should not proceed to arrange our dress by adopting some special costume, or to quality our language by using an outlandish tongue. But let us seek of God that He would purify our hearts from pride, and then assuredly if pride is purged from the heart, our life also shall be humble. Make the tree good, and then the fruits shall be good. Make the fountain pure, the stream shall be sweet. Oh! That God might grant us all, by His grace, that our hearts my be kept with diligence, so that pride may never enter there lest we be haughty in our hearts and find that afterwards comes wrath.

The consequence of pride is destruction, a fact which we can prove by hundreds of instances in Scriptures and in history. We men have become proud, destruction has come upon them. Perhaps the most magnificent which has ever yet been built was the city of Babylonian, in which there walks one who, lifting up his mortal head on high as if he were more than mortal men, exclaims, “See ye this great Babylon that I have built?” Oh, pride marks the mighty builder of Babylon creeping on the earth. Like oxen he is devouring grass. His nails have grown like birds’ claws, his hair like eagles’ feathers, and his heart has gone from him. Pride did all that, that it might be fulfilled which God has written, “Before destruction the heart of men is haughty.”

Pride is most likely to meet with destruction because it is too tall to walk upright. It is most likely to tumble down, because it is always looking upward in its ambition, and never looks to its feet. There only needs to be a pitfall in the way, or even a stone, and down it goes. It is sure to tumble because it is never contented with being where it is. It is always seeking to be climbing, and boys that will climb must expect to fall. Pride is foolhardy, and will venture upon scaling any rock. Pride, when most successful, stands in slippery place. Who would choose to dwell on a pinnacle of the temple? That is where pride has built its house, and verily it seems but natural that pride should down if pride will up.