How can I overcome pride?

Is there distrust and distress in your minds? See if it be not because you are still saying "I," "I," and losing sight of God's grace. You may indeed have faith, but you want simplicity of heart in looking at God's grace. It is better to be thinking of what God is than of what we are. This looking at ourselves is at the bottom really pride - a want of the thorough consciousness that we are good for nothing. Till we see this we never look quite away from self to God. Sometimes perhaps the looking at our evil may be a partial instrument in teaching us it; but still even this is not all that is needed. In looking to Christ it is our privilege to forget ourselves. True humility does not so much consist in thinking badly of ourselves as in not thinking of ourselves at all. I am too bad to be worth thinking about. What I want is, to forget myself and to look at God who is indeed worth all my thoughts. Is there need of being humbled about ourselves? We may be quite sure that will do it.

Remark, that the humbling oneself is in the sight of the Lord, not of men - a real inward work which destroys self-esteem; realising the presence and the greatness of God, it gives Him His true place in the heart, and gives us ours also. Then all is real, and then alone we can act for God according to truth. Verses 9, 10 are the effect of the realised presence of God in a world of sin and misery, on a heart which is there, and which feels both the one and the other.

We do not undo wrong, by doing what appears to us to be right, but by justifying God in confession, and taking the place which He assigns to us. The same God who, by His grace, has made as every thing, and given us every thing in Christ, the moment we cease to value that, by looking to our own attainments, will in very faithfulness make us feel our nothingness. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." He is ever able to come in when we are humble, and work for His own name's sake. But He has no name to meet us while, in the pride of our hearts, we insist on maintaining a position. He can, in such case, only resist us. Are we indeed "cast down?" He can reveal Himself as "God who comforteth those who are cast down." Are we in tribulation? He is able to come in as "the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." Let us get down as low as may be before God, He has ever in reserve some part of His own name to reveal and meet us.

Difficulties among the saints are readily removed when we heed the injunction, “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.” Pride is most objectionable to God, and He resists the proud, but “gives grace to the humble.” If then we would draw upon the vast resources of divine grace, there must be the humility that was seen in Christ and in those who follow His steps. We cannot be in God’s presence in the spirit of pride, but we can come before Him to humble ourselves, and so be assured of true exaltation, in due time.

Humility is to be the right clothing for the saints of God. "They are to gird themselves with humility in this way, humility being that which will keep everything rightly adjusted, as the girdle the robe, and which would thus enable for such activity as all are called to; for humility is a grand help against discouragement by the difficulties of the way, and necessarily against all that would search out any remnant of pride in us" (F.W. Grant). Self-exaltation is the very essence of sin. God cannot tolerate it in His people. The example of Christ, who made of Himself no reputation, forbids it. God resisteth therefore always and in every way the proud, while He giveth grace to the humble. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." How little these great exhortations are considered in our times! Even among those who have the truth and believe in the revelation of God, while there is much increase in knowledge, there is little evidence of true humility. Humility will never leave us ashamed. We do not need to exalt ourselves; the Lord will do it for us.

Peter had suffered for his self-confidence, the root of which was pride of heart, and he desired to save the beloved saints to whom he wrote, and us, from this folly; hence his exhortation, "Be clothed with humility" (chap. 5:5). The R.V. reads, "Gird yourselves with humility, and serve one another." The New Translation reads, "And all of you bind on humility towards one another." I am sure that Peter had in his memory the unforgettable act of the Lord when on the night on which He was betrayed He rose from the supper-table and laid aside His garments and took a towel and girded Himself and began to wash His disciples' feet. Peter had resented the Lord's taking that place of lowly service to him; he did not understand then that Divine love must serve its objects as long as a need remains; and while the feet-washing was a symbolical act, and while in it there is a depth of meaning only discerned by loving hearts, we must not miss that which lies on the surface. "I have given you an example," said the Lord, that ye should do as I have done to you." Luke tells us that at that same Supper He said to them, "I am among you as He that serves." God looks for the reproduction of the features of His Son in us, and if our hearts are affected by the love of the Lord we shall gladly serve one another with humility of heart. "God resisteth the proud, but gives grace to the humble." And grace from above and humility within are needed for such service.

The disciples did not understand Christ Jesus, so He humbled Himself that they might learn humility. It was to show His humility, that He emptied Himself and took upon Him the form of a servant, and bent down to wash the feet of the traitor apostle. He said, “Know ye what I have done to you? if I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye ought also to wash one another's feet.” Have we the grace to do it? It must be grace in us to enable us to go down; for if we are to wash the feet of others we must go down beneath them. We must get below them; we must not stand upon a pedestal and elevate ourselves. No, we must bow in the presence of our brethren, and catch thus the spirit of our Master and our Lord if we are to serve our brethren in the mind of Christ Jesus. There should be no self in the service of Christ.

Do not be saying to God, "make me as one of thy hired servants;" all true service must result from the knowledge of Himself. Do not be putting the estimate of your own hearts on God's goodness. Our wretched hearts have such a tendency to turn back to legalism, and call it humbleness. The only real humbleness, and strength, and blessing, is to forget self in the presence and blessedness of God.

God never wants to harm His children. He wants to deliver us from those traits that are harmful and develop those habits that produce peace and happiness. For example, if we are inclined to be proud, God may allow someone to make a derogatory remark about us for our own development. But if we do not recognize this as God's discipline for our correction, we are likely to get angry and say or do something we may regret later. However, if we see how God is delivering us from pride and giving us an opportunity to show a Christ-like spirit of meekness, forbearance and grace, His chastening will make us happy and peaceful.

Here is our example, as Christians; and here, too, the divine antidote against the pride and restless ambition of the men of this world. Nothing is more sad than to witness a pushing, bustling, forward, self-confident spirit and style in those who profess to be followers of Him who was meek and lowly in heart. It is such a flagrant contradiction of the spirit and precepts of Christianity, and is a sure accompaniment of an unbroken condition of soul. It is utterly impossible for any one to indulge in a boastful, pretentious, self-confident spirit, if ever he has really measured himself in the presence of God. To be much alone with God is the sovereign remedy for pride and self-complacency. May we know the reality of this in the secret of our own souls! May the good Lord keep us truly humble, in all our ways, simply leaning on Himself, and very very little in our own eyes!