Is there a right and wrong pride?

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Proverbs 16:18-19, KJV)

Perhaps you, as I, memorized Proverbs 16:18 when you were young. I was taught by good Sunday School teachers and by my parents not to be filled with pride. I was taught that pride means conceit, an inordinate good opinion of oneself, showing ostentation or a spirit of haughtiness.

But then I was told, “Take pride in what you do.” How then could I justify the two, for I had learned that pride brings about self-destruction. How then could I take pride (reasonable or justifiable self-respect for what I had accomplished) in what I did, and not expect the downfall as described in Proverbs 16:18?

I came to the conclusion that there are two kinds of pride. The one to guard against is being showy and ostentatious about what you do or have. This kind of pride is obnoxious to those about you and will certainly lead to character defamation of the one who has this destructive type of pride. On the other hand, when we take pride (delight in or have self-respect for) a job well done, and still keep our spirit humble, this type of self-motivation can be very beneficial.

The wrong kind of pride is the opposite of humility. It means being puffed up, haughty, showy. The right kind of pride is a deep desire to do well. Couple this with accepting and acting upon the grace of God working through your life and you are on the right track. Solomon spoke to this right attitude about the pride that motivates in Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” If we commit our work to the Lord, then He brings it to fruition. We then will want to praise God for what He has done and know that we would not have achieved goals without His direction. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6). Our pride is in God and what He can do through us, not in ourselves and our achievements.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, July 15, 2010