A Field Guide to Pride Part 2:3 Surprising Forms of Pride

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble"
James 4:6 ESV


it comes to diagnosing our hearts, those of us who have the disease of pride have a challenging time identifying our sickness. Pride infects our eyesight, causing us to view ourselves through a lens that colors and distorts reality. Pride will paint even our ugliness in sin as beautiful and commendable.
We can’t conclude that we don’t struggle with pride because we don’t see pride in our hearts. The comfortable moments when I pat myself on the back for how well I am doing are the moments that should alarm me the most. The moments when I am holding a pity party are equally as dangerous.

What we need is a field guide for pride. So, let us survey pride’s various forms to provides a clear line of sight so that we can place pride in our crosshairs and shoot to kill.

can appear in forms that look like polar opposites summed up in 2 categories.

The Pride of Building up
The Pride of Tearing down

Here are six interrelated forms:

Building Up:
Self-Exaltation,
Self-Promotion,
and Self-Justification

Tearing Down:
Self-Degradation,
Self-Demotion,
and Self-Condemnation

Last week we looked at the most common views of pride which are tied with building up self. But today I want to discuss the subtle forms of pride which involve tearing down.

The common denominator for all six species of pride is self-preoccupation. Pride wants to be the center of attention: for good or for bad.

The surprising yet equally dangerous forms of Pride.
Self-Degradation
Self-Demotion
and Self-Condemnation

pride can shift into the shape of self-degradation and self-demotion when we beat ourselves up for our failures. We are still obsessed with ourselves. In the first form, we are obsessed with our successes; in the second, we are obsessed with our failures.
for our failures. We are still obsessed with ourselves. In the first form, we are obsessed with our successes; in the second, we are obsessed with our failures

Self-degradation, self-demotion, and self-condemnation all come when the shoe is on the other less fortunate foot. They are the opposite of the forms of Pride where we build up the self. They emerge as we stew over our losses and others’ successes. Rather than raising a toast to successes, these three forms of pride throw a lavish pity party.

1.Self-Degradation
First, where self-exaltation elevates and builds up the self, self-degradation is a form of demolition which tears down the self.

2.Self-Demotion
Second, self-demotion throws a public and pathetic party to highlight the fact that we have performed worse than others, we have it worse than others, or we have less than others. Self-demotion plans the funeral for our ego. Why would we want others to see these things? Ironically, self-demotion can be a sneaky form of self-promotion because we’re actually fishing for the affirmation and reassurance we believe we deserve.

3.Self-Condemnation
Third, self-condemnation passes judgment on us when we fall short of our own standards. Sometimes we carry out the painful judgment on ourselves. We can mentally replay poor performances in order to beat ourselves up repeatedly over our failures. Self-condemnation does not feel vindicated in the sight of others, but feels shame for falling short.

Pride is wholly consumed with self. Pride may shout out to every person it sees, “Look at me! I am amazing!” It also might shout, “Look at me, I am horrible. I am ugly, I am no good. I am dumber than anybody I know!” Pride is so inwardly focused that even when it hates self with utmost vehemence, it cannot remove its burning eyes from self! It continues to utterly abhor self, even to the point of suicide. This is not humility. This is pride; pride in its most pitiable, sorry form.

Pride seeks everyone else’s sympathy and pity, and is angry when it does not get it. If someone does need encouragement in their trial, Pride would only defend its position as having the worst trial there is, leaving the other crushed and without hope. It relies wholly on other people to pity it, and perhaps build it up for a while to keep it from total self-destruction. This form of pride is subtle, and builds slowly. It leaves you helpless and entirely unhelpful to the rest of humanity. It may be the most subtle, most deadly form of pride.

So how do we fight pride? Don’t be suckered into thinking that to battle the first kind of pride you must use the second.

The common denominator for all six species of pride is self-preoccupation. Pride wants to be the center of attention: for good or for bad. Pride’s fixation with self can only be countered with humility’s forgetfulness of self. Humility is the photo-negative of pride.

To be continued...