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 humble.  (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 done 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 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 humbling 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.

Today, people show pride in many harmful ways. Pride is sometimes related to racism. According to one dictionary, racism is prejudice against people who belong to other races. It is also "the belief that people of different races are inherently superior or inferior."  Racism has resulted in fights, wars, and even mass murder.

Of course, such things should not happen in the Christian congregation. Still, disagreements between brothers and sisters may start with pride and get out of control.  That happened to some early Christians, which is why James asked them this powerful question:  "What is the source of the wars and fights among you?  (James 4:1)  If we feel hatred for others and feel that we are better than they are, we may say or do something that really hurts them.  (Proverbs 12:18) Clearly, pride can harm the peace of the congregation. 

If we tend to feel that we are better than others, we need to remember that Jehovah hates "everyone proud in heart."  (Proverbs 16:5) We also need to examine our hearts and ask ourselves, 'Do I feel that I am better then people who are of another race, nationality, or culture?'  If so, we are forgetting that God  "made out of one man every nation of men."  (Acts 17:26) So in a way, we are all one race because everyone came from Adam.  It is very foolish to believe that God made some races better than others.  If we think this way, we are allowing Satan to destroy our Christian love and unity.  (John 13: 35) To fight Satan and win, we must avoid all kinds of improper pride. -Proverbs 16:18. 

Next time: You Can Fight Satan and Win! - AVOID MATERIALISM AND LOVE FOR THE WORLD

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