November 12, 2026 -- Proverbs 16:18 -- Pride, a haughty spirit, and amazing grace

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18 ESV
 
A that few days ago I noted Proverbs 16:16 to 26 describe a righteous person. A man, or woman,  who desires to follow God. How interesting that tucked into that section is a strong warning to the righteous. Even men and women upheld by the steadfast love of God can face the temptations of their own sinful inclinations and stumble. BTW, read it carefully. Ask yourself if you’ve misquoted it recently. Most people will reference it this way, pride goes before a fall. But it is worse that than. Prideful ways bring destruction.
 
Pride. What is it? Well, the prideful person uses phrases like these: I can get away with my sin. No one will know. It won’t hurt this time. I can handle myself. God isn’t watching. I really want this. I deserve this. This will make me feel better.
 
What is the destruction pride brings? Getting high. Debt. Broken friendships. Broken trust. A defiled marriage bed. Job loss. Visiting in prison on Wednesday I spoke with a man who lamented about trust issues. I noted that violating trust is like having $50 stolen from a $55.00 bank account. Suddenly there is almost no trust left. Rebuilding trust is a very slow, very long-term process. Trust is rebuilt in small acts of kindness, which are like 5 cents deposits back into the trust account. Or evidence of repentance, which is a 25 cent deposit. We must be patient with one another in this process because of God’s extraordinary patience with us.
 
What is a haughty spirit? Literally it means a tall spirit. Someone who thinks she’s better than others. Someone who refuses to listen to advice of the “little people” around him; acting as if he can handle something along while the others around him couldn't handle his situation as well as he could…until he finds he can’t handle it either.
 
Pride and a haughty spirit destroy the reputation. They mess with your sense of security in Christ. They blow up Christian community. They break friendships. These twin explosives of pride and a haughty spirit are tucked into this longer passage describing the wise man and the woman who trusts in the LORD because all of us sin. All of us succumb to temptation. All of us stumble. All of us have broken trust. Not one of us deserves grace. In fact, as the Rev. Dr. M. Kruger puts it, we actually demerit grace.
 
Dear brothers and sisters this is why the Gospel is such good news! Those who are in Christ know their own sinful state. We realize unless the people God has put into our lives are also sinners. But praise Him, God intervenes. Even when we will be stubborn in our rebellion. His mighty Spirit will use the Bible to bring us to conviction of our wrong-doing. His blessed Spirit will remind us we have a Father in heaven Who knows the worst extent of our sin, and remind us this precisely is why He has sent the Savior to rescue us. We constantly need to be saved from ourselves, rescued from our betraying toying the devil, and the ever-present temptations of the world. This is why we praise our God. Why were are humble in our Christian community: all of us are sinners saved by grace. This is the very reason we will (we must) warmly welcome back other sinners most recently saved by grace.
 
Father in heaven, thank You for the grace and peace You lavish on us. Thank You for rescuing us from the present evil age through Jesus Christ. Thank You for the work of Your Holy Spirit in applying the work of Jesus until we are wholly saved and holy. Amen.
 https://youtu.be/TyftzvQixSc?si=zKKDWJ_2F_ULR17z

 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.