Jeremiah 13:9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 13:15-17 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.  But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride…”

I am reminded once again this morning of God’s hatred for pride. Pride is thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. Pride is not giving the glory to God for who we are, where we are, and what we have. In these chapters, the Lord’s anger for His people is obvious. He’s so angry, in fact, that that twice he asked the prophet to stop praying for them, because He would destroy them. He didn’t want prayers. He didn’t want sacrifices. He didn’t even want the preacher to go back to them in Jer. 15:19. However, in the midst of this – in the midst of God’s hardness toward His people, He offers a glimmer of light for their saving. “…be not proud… Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness.” Their only hope for “light” was for them to do away with their pride.

There are multiple abominations mentioned in the Bible. Some are wicked, and vile, and we’d never take part in them. Some would ruin our reputation, and some would disqualify those of us in the ministry. However, there is one that seems to find its way into our hearts and our minds – pride. The devil, who is the epitome of pride, is a master at trying to usher pride into our hearts. Spurgeon came down from his pulpit after a great sermon, and two ladies met him at the back. “We wanted to be the first to let you know that that was a great sermon”. His response was “you weren’t the first. The devil already told me”. Even after a sermon where we prayed, sought the Lord, and knew it was HIM who gave it to us, we can walk away with a spirit of pride. A new car, or outfit, or gadget, can cause us to walk onto the property with a “proud look”. And in fact, pride is taking glory for anything that God has done. In that case, we don’t have much to glory in!

As God admonished to His people, let us give glory to the Lord for who we are and what He’s done in our lives. Might we look for ways to praise Him, thank Him, and attribute to Him the glory He deserves from us. And let us beware lest pride creeps into our hearts and lives. Of course, true humility is found in Christ’s example – servanthood, no reputation, and submitting in obedience to the Father’s will.