The irony of pride is that it keeps us from talking about pride… which keeps us from letting go of it.

For a long time, I didn’t think I had a pride issue.

As a kid, my extreme shyness and lack of confidence made me feel the opposite of prideful. And, my tendency toward people pleasing made me feel like I was thinking about others more than myself. Yet, looking back, I know I struggled with pride—even though I didn’t know it at the time.

That hidden pride grew as I got older. Still, I didn’t recognize it. Sure, I saw my selfishness. My perfectionist tendencies. And, my stubbornness to do things my way and in my own strength. But, somehow, I didn’t see any of that as pride.

Now, I do.

So, let’s talk about pride. What God says about it. How it can sneakily appear in our lives. And, how to let go.

What does the Bible say about pride?

Great question. It says a LOT.

Below is a list of verses in the Bible on pride. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, only a helpful place to start. I encourage you to seek out more verses on pride if this is an area God is nudging you to grow in right now.

List of Bible verses on pride

Psalm 10:4 (NLT) — The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.

Psalm 75:4-7 (NLT) — ⁴ I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists! ⁵ Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’” ⁶ For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness— should raise a defiant fist. ⁷ It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.

Proverbs 11:2 (NLT) — Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 13:10 (NLT) — Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.

Proverbs 15:25 (NLT) — The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows.

Proverbs 16:5 (NLT) — The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished.

Proverbs 16:18 (NLT) — Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

Proverbs 21:4 (NLT) — Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin.

Proverbs 21:24 (NLT) — Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT) — ²³ This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. ²⁴ But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Daniel 5:20 (NLT) — But when [King Nebuchadnezzar’s] heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.

Mark 7:20-23 (NLT) — ²⁰ And then [Jesus] added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. ²¹ For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Romans 11:20 (NLT) — Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.

Romans 12:3 (NLT) — Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Romans 12:16 (NLT) — Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

1 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) — If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

1 Corinthians 13:4 (NLT) — Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.

2 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) — Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!

Galatians 6:3 (NLT) — If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Philippians 2:3 (NLT) — Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

James 4:6 (NLT) — And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:10 (NLT) — Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

1 John 2:16 (NLT) — For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

What does pride look like?

Okay, so we’ve read a LOT of verses on pride. We know God’s truth about pride and why we should obey. But, what does pride even look like?! How can we begin to recognize it in our lives and acknowledge it as pride in order to let it go?

Here’s a list of ways pride can sneak into our lives and become a habit before we even realize it’s a problem.

Prideful lies we tell ourselves

• “I can do it on my own. I don’t need other people.” OR “I don’t need God.”
• “At least I’m not as bad as _______.”
• “I can’t believe _____ did that! I would never do that.”
• “How dare they treat me like that!” OR “How dare they say that to me!”

Other ways pride can manifest

• People pleasing to seek the approval of anyone other than God.
• Complaining to vent, with no intent to resolve the complaint.
• Bitterness toward someone who hurt you because you can’t let it go.
• Not forgiving someone.
• Comparing yourself to someone else to make yourself look better.
• Justifying your own bad behavior by comparison to someone else.
• Thinking you are above consequences or punishment.
• Disrespecting someone else with your actions or words.
• Needing to be right. Thinking your way is best.
• Trying to control other people, situations, or plans by thinking your way is best.
• Not admitting you’re wrong OR not asking forgiveness.
• Thinking you’re too good to interact with someone else.
• Believing that any task is beneath you.
• Bragging to make yourself look better.
• Fixating on your accomplishments.
• Taking the credit for something God did.
• Taking credit for someone else’s achievement.
• Throwing the blame on someone else to avoid consequences.
• Not considering other people’s feelings.
• Getting defensive.
• Acting in a passive aggressive way.
• Any form of selfishness.

I could go on, but I’ll stop there and let you think of other examples in your own life.

And, I will add—with honesty and humility—that I have thought or done every single thing on the list above. If you read through the list feeling the same, you are not alone.

The fight against pride is a rough one.

Pride doesn’t go away in a day. Or a week. Or even a month.

It can pop up even when we think we’ve mastered it. Because thinking we’ve mastered it IS ALSO PRIDE.

As humans, we will always struggle with pride. But, if that’s true, how are we supposed to let it go?

How to let go of pride

The simple and challenging answer is to abide in Christ.

Yup. The more we abide in Jesus, the less we will put ourselves first. More Jesus + less me, me, me = less pride.

In John 15:4-5 (NLT), Jesus tells his disciples (and us!) this:

⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Pride says, “I don’t need God. I don’t need to remain connected to the vine of Christ” (to use Jesus’ analogy).

Humility says, “I need to remain connected to God to be fruitful in this life. Apart from God, I won’t thrive or grow or truly live.” AND “God gets the credit!”

Does that seem daunting? Abiding in Christ?

Well, it is for me, too. But remember. God is patient.

The best place to start is by adding more of God into your day. Whatever that looks like.

Remember:

More God + less me, me, me = BYE PRIDE 👋

So, that’s what I’m learning about pride. I hope this helps you, too, because we’re in this together!

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