3 nitty-gritty questions to ask yourself about pride

I think that part of spiritual maturity is learning to see yourself in the villains of the Bible. As a kid, when my Sunday School teacher stuck up pictures of Judas or Balaam or pre-salvation Paul, I would boo along with the rest of the kiddos . . . and wonder why all the bad guys always have thick monobrows and a scowl.

But as I was reading in Daniel this past weekend, I was practically moved to tears at how much I related to Nebuchadnezzar.

I have the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, the fear-of-man of Pilate, and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

I want to park in Nebuchadnezzar’s parking spot for a moment, though. In Daniel 3, he’s turning red because three teenage guys won’t worship him (basically). So he throws them into a burning furnace . . . but is shocked when he sees them walking around in the flames with a fourth person. He pulls them out and gives this amazing monologue.

His character arc is kinda wobbly (but also relatable) though because just one chapter later he’s parading around on the rooftop of his castle. This whole story is noteworthy.

We all start out with a wrong view of ourselves.

Nebuchadnezzar’s (my fingers hurt from typing that out, but I’ve still got like five more points) pride is SO. BLATANT.

Which just makes me think about how BLIND we often are to our own pride. Get a load of this:

• His vocabulary: great, mighty, royal, glory, majesty
• His pronouns: I , my, my
• His credit: “which I have built by my power”
• His purpose: “for the glory of my majesty”

So, if you want to know if you’re blinded by pride, just ask yourself:

• What is my view of myself?
• Who am I giving credit to for my life, accomplishments, possessions, etc.?
• What am I living for?

Big oof. I was rebuked, to be completely honest.

Sometimes the only way to remove pride is to remove the SOURCE of the pride.

In this case, God removed Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom from him. The story isn’t crystal clear, but basically the king goes insane for 7 years and thinks he’s a cow. Now that’s something you don’t want to go viral on Snapchat . . .

But this made me think of my own life. I wrote in my notebook that “it may sometimes take losing the source of our pride in order for us to realize God is so much greater than us.”

I used to be super, super proud: of my looks, my health, my athleticism, my reputation.

Ask yourself: What do I boast in?

And a lot of that was taken away. I’ve been fighting health problems that often leave me nauseous, bloated, and feeling like a beanbag chair filled with bricks. But reading this passage made me realize that God did that for me. He didn’t want me to keep sailing through life, keeping Him at arm’s length.

My role SHOULD be to bless, praise, and honor God . . . instead of myself.

God literally explained to Nebuchadnezzar why he was going to be punished: “until you know that the most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” He had an improper view of God. And ultimately that’s why we sin, right? My doubting shows I don’t believe God will do what He’s promised. My anger shows I don’t believe God will avenge me.

Ask yourself: What is God trying to teach me?

What changed the whole situation was when Nebuchadnezzar finally stopped chowing down on the grass . . . and lifted his eyes to heaven. His eyes had been so focused on earth: on crowns, on people, on buildings and gardens and money. God wanted him to look UP; to look up at Him who truly reigns.

Ask yourself: Where am I looking?

And what did Nebuchadnezzar do when he looked up? He didn’t curse the heavens or blaspheme or scoff. No, he blessed, praised, and honored God.

Ask yourself: What am I doing?

Maybe it finally clicked with him: that though he was king of the greatest nation on earth, God was the one who had given him that power and, furthermore, God is the only king who will rule for eternity.

Nebuchadnezzar realized how small he was. (And that’s a good place to be.)

Because greatness isn’t achieved: it’s given. Only when we humble ourselves can God raise us up to biblical greatness.