Proverbs 13:10, Great “I” and Little “You”!
July 5, Proverbs 13:10
Phil. 2:3; 2 Cor. 10:13-18 “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Mt. 20:27).
Great “I” and Little “You”!
A proud man esteems himself better than others. A humble man esteems others better than himself. Humility is simply to have a just view of yourself. So proud men abound, while the humble are hard to find!
1. Its Cause is in Self. The word pride comes from a root meaning boiling up. It is similar to arrogance (8:13), insolence or presumptuousness. Its opposite appears in Pr. 11:2 as lowly or modest. There are ten different words translated pride 45 times in the O.T. The Hebrew word for pride, used here, only occurs six times (two in Proverbs), indicating its particular shade of meaning. The Hebrew word contention occurs just three times, here and in Pr. 17:19 (strife) and Isa. 58:4 (debate). It is a state of strife or quarrelling. Pride produces only hurtful results in the clash of unyielding personalities. Proud men, you see, hate pride in others!
2. Its Course is in Strife. Only by pride comes contention (13:10a). Ponder the word Only as used here. It means surely, altogether! What an indictment of man’s ego, pride! “Pride is the cause of all other sins” (Manton). How often we allow hurt pride to creep in under cover of glorifying God! The Devil knows where to attack us. “Pride either finds a desert or makes one; submission cannot tame its ferocity, nor satisfy its voracity, and it requires costly food – its keeper’s happiness” (Colton). Pride makes one “impatient of contradiction, impatient of competition, impatient of contempt, impatient of concession” (Henry). It is “jealous of every person – a perpetual storm within, and daily hissing from without” (Jeremy Taylor). Men must avenge, will not forgive, because of pride, for pride and love are strangers. An old saying puts it: “Can pride and grace dwell in the same place?” They may squeeze in somehow, but they can never agree!
3. Its Cure is in Swallow. With the well advised is wisdom (13:10b). The implication here is that the proud man will not ask or accept counsel. John Newton had to deal with demon pride, too! Said he, “The pride of others offends me and makes me studious to hide my own.” May God give us grace to hide our pride, nay, rather, to bury it deep in the ocean of God’s grace. “God is not out to hurt my pride. He is out to kill it.” Will you humbly swallow your pride and submit to advice. Do all you can to avoid disputes and discords caused by pride. Let the words of Augustus Toplady sums this up.
Let thy cross my will control;
Conform me to my Guide;
In the Manger lay my soul,
And crucify my pride.
Thought: “If we insist on our glory, God will withdraw His.”
Prayer: “Dear Lord, make me a good listener and keep me from strife.”