You Can Fight Satan and Win!

REJECT PRIDE

Satan is  extremely  proud. This wicked angel dared to challenge God's right to rule, and he tried to make others worship him instead of Jehovah.So he is the perfect example of pride and arrogance.  Therefore, one way that we can fight against Satan is to reject pride and to be humbled.  (Read 1 Peter 5:5) But what is pride?  Is it always bad?

According to one dictionary, pride is a feeling of confidence and respect for ourselves. It is also "a feeling of satisfaction which you have because you  or people close to you have something good or possess something good."  There is nothing wrong with feeling that way.  The apostle Paul said to the brothers in Thessalonica:   "We ourselves  take pride in you among the congregations of God because of your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the hardships that you are suffering." (2 Thessalonians 1:4)  So feeling good about the work  of others and even having some pride in ourselves can benefit us. We  do not need to be ashamed of our family, culture, or the place where we grew up. -Acts 21:39. 

However, there is a kind of pride that can ruin relationships, especially our friendship with Jehovah. This type of pride can cause us to feel upset when we are counseled.  It can even cause us to reject the counsel instead of humbly accepting it.  (Psalm 141:5) This kind of pride is described as thinking too much of ourselves or as "a haughty attitude shown by people who believe, often unjustifiably, that they are better than others."  Jehovah hates arrogant pride.  (Ezekiel 33:28; Amos 6:8) But Satan loves it when humans imitate his arrogance by bragging about themselves. Imagine how Satan rejoiced when Nimrod, Pharaoh, and Absalom showed improper pride by their bragging!  (Genesis 10:8, 9; Exodus 5:1, 2; 2 Samuel 15:4-6) Pride was also  a reason why Cain lost his relationship with God. Jehovah himself counseled Cain, but Cain was too proud to listen. He was stubborn, ignored God's  warning, and did not hesitate to sin against Jehovah. -Genesis 4:6-8. 

Next time: You Can Fight Satan and Win! -Conclusion of REJECT PRIDE

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015