by Charles Spurgeon
There is nothing into which the heart of man so easily falls as pride, and yet there is no vice which is more frequently, more emphatically, and more eloquently condemned in Scripture.
Pride is a groundless thing. It stands on the sands, or—worse than that—it puts its foot on the billows which yield beneath its tread. Even worse still, it stands on bubbles which soon must burst beneath its feet. Of all things, pride has the worst foothold. It has no solid rock on earth on which to place itself. We have reasons for almost everything, but we have no reasons for pride. Pride is a thing which should be unnatural for us, for we have nothing to be proud of.
Again, pride is a brainless thing, as well as a groundless thing, for it brings no profit with it. There is no wisdom in a self-exaltation. Other vices have some excuse, for men seem to gain by them—avarice, pleasure, lust have some plea—but the man who is proud sells his soul cheaply. He opens wide the floodgates of his heart to let men see how deep is the flood within his soul. Then suddenly it flows out, and all is gone—all is nothing for one puff of empty wind, one word of sweet applause. The soul is gone, and not a drop is left.
In almost every other sin, we gather up the ashes when the fire is gone. But here, what is left? The covetous man has his shining gold, but what does the proud man have? He has less than he would have had without his pride, and is no gainer whatever. Pride wins no crown. Men never honor it, not even the menial slaves of earth. All men look down on the proud man and think him less than themselves.
Again, pride is the maddest thing that can exist. It feeds upon its own vitals. It will take away its own life, that with its blood it may make a purple cape for its shoulders. It saps and undermines its own house that it may build its pinnacles a little higher, and then the whole structure tumbles down. Nothing proves men so mad as pride.
Then pride is a protean thing because it changes its shape. It is all forms in the world. You may find it in any fashion you may choose. You may see it in the beggar's rags as well as in the rich man's garments. It dwells with the rich and with the poor. The man without a shoe to his foot may be as proud as if he were riding in a chariot.
Pride can be found in every rank of society, among all classes of men. Sometimes it is an Armenian and talks about the power of the creature. Then it turns Calvinist and boasts of its fancied security, forgetful of the Maker, who alone can keep our faith alive. Pride can profess any form of religion. It may be a Quaker and wear no collar to its coat. It may be an Episcopalian and worship God in splendid cathedrals. It may be a Dissenter and go to the common meeting house. It is one of the most catholic things in the world; it attends all kinds of chapels and churches. Go where you will, you will see pride. It comes up with us to the house of God. It goes with us to our houses. It is found in the market and the exchange, in the streets, and everywhere.
Let me hint at one or two forms which pride assumes. Sometimes pride takes the doctrinal shape. It teaches the doctrine of self-sufficiency. It tells us what man can do and will not admit that we are lost, fallen, debased, and ruined creatures, as we are. It hates divine sovereignty and rails at election.
Then, if pride is driven from that, it takes another form. It allows that the doctrine of free grace is true, but does not feel it. It acknowledges that salvation is of the Lord alone, but still it prompts men to seek heaven by their own works, even by the deeds of the law. When driven from that heresy, it will persuade men to join something with Christ in the matter of salvation.
When that is all torn up and the poor rag of our righteousness is all burned, pride will get into the Christian's heart as well as the sinner's. It will flourish under the name of self-sufficiency, teaching Christians that they are "rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17). It will tell them that they do not need daily grace, that past experience will do for tomorrow—that they know enough, toil enough, pray enough. It will make them forget that they have "not...already attained" (Philippians 3:12). It will not allow them to press forward to the things that are ahead, forgetting the things that are behind. (See Philippians 3:13-14.) It enters into hearts and tempts believers to set up independent businesses for themselves. Until the Lord brings about a spiritual bankruptcy, pride will keep them from going to God.
Pride has ten thousand shapes. It is not always that stiff and starched gentleman that you picture. It is a vile, creeping, insinuating things, that will twist itself like a serpent into our hearts. it will talk of humility and prate about being dust and ashes. I have known men to talk about their corruption most marvelously, pretending to be all humility, while at the same time they were the proudest wretches that could be found this side of the gulf of separation.
O friends! You cannot tell how many shapes pride will assume. Look sharp about you, or you will be deceived by it. And just when you think you are entertaining angels, you will find you have been receiving devils unawares.
The true throne of pride everywhere is the heart of man. If we desire, by God's grace, to put down pride, the only way is to begin with the heart.
Now let me tell you a parable in the form of an eastern story, which will set this truth in its proper light. A wise man in the East, called a dervish, in his wanderings came suddenly upon a mountain. He saw beneath his feet a smiling valley, in the midst of which there flowed a river. With the sun shining on the stream, the water, as it reflected the sunlight, looked pure and beautiful. When he descended, he found it was muddy, and the water utterly unfit for drinking.
Nearby he saw a young man, in the dress of a shepherd, who was filtering the water for his flocks with much diligence. One moment he poured some water into a pitcher and then allowed it to stand. After it had settled, he poured the clean fluid into a cistern. Then, in another place, he would be seen turning aside the current for a little, and letting it ripple over the sand and stones so that it might be filtered and the impurities removed.
The dervish watched the young man endeavoring to fill a large cistern with clear water. he asked him, "My son, why all this toil? What purpose does it answer?"
The young man replied, "Father, I am a shepherd. This water is so filthy that my flock will not drink it. Therefore, I am obliged to purify it little by little, so I collect enough in this way that they may drink, but it is hard work." So saying, he wiped the sweat from his brow, for he was exhausted with his toil.
"Right well have you labored," said the wise man, "but do you know your toil is not well applied? With half the labor, you might attain a better end. I envisage that the source of this stream must be impure and polluted. Let us take a pilgrimage together and see." They then walked some miles, climbing their way over many a rock, until they came to a spot where the stream took its rise. When they came near it, they saw flocks of wild fowls flying away, and wild beasts of the earth rushing into the forest. These had come to drink and had soiled the water with their feet. They found an open well which kept continually flowing, but, by reason of these creatures which perpetually disturbed it, the stream was always turbid and muddy.
"My son," said the wise man, "set to work not to protect the fountain and guard the well, which is the source of this stream. When you have done that, if you can keep these wild beasts and fowls away, the stream will flow by itself all pure and clear, and you will have no longer need for your toil." The young man did it, and as he labored, the wise man said to him, "My son, hear the word of wisdom. If you are wrong, seek not to correct your outward life, but seek first to get your heart correct, for out of it are the issues of life. Your life shall be pure when once your heart is so."
So if we would get ride of pride, we should not proceed to arrange our dress by adopting some special costume, or to qualify our language by using an outlandish tongue. Rather, let us seek of God that He would purify our hearts from pride. Then assuredly, if pride is purged from the heart, our life also shall be humble. Make the tree good, and then the fruit shall be good. Make the fountain pure, and the stream shall be sweet.