Concealed Pride.

"The pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching. If there is an itch one does want to scratch; but it is much nicer to have neither the itch nor the scratch. As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval; but the happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither but have everything else (God, our fellow humans, animals, the garden and the sky) instead...."

C.S Lewis explains how one of the manifestations of pride is the craving for human approval. The itch of self-regard craves the scratch of self-approval. That is, if we are getting our pleasure from feeling self-sufficient, we will not be satisfied without others' seeing and applauding our self-sufficiency.

Hence Jesus' description of the scribes and Pharisees: "They do all their deeds to be noticed by men.... And they love the place of honour at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men, Rabbi" (Matt 23:5-7)

The Void of Self-Sufficiency

This is ironic. Self-sufficiency should free the proud person from the need to be made much of by others. That's what "sufficient" means. But evidently there is a void in this so-called self-sufficiency. THe self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It can never be sufficient. We are but images of God, not the real thing. We are shadows and echoes. So there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self.

Jesus saw the terrible effect of this itch for human glory. He named it in John 5:44, "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" The answer is, You can't. Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why? Because faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus; and if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of others' acclaim, you will turn away from Jesus.

But if you would turn from self as a source of satisfaction (=repentence) and come to Jesus for the enjoyment of all that GOd is for us in Him (=Faith), then the itch would be replaced by a well of water springing up to eternal life. (John 4:14)

The Irony of Weak Pride

The irony of this insatiable itch in the self-sufficient soul becomes even more evident when pride cannot get what it wants and begins to flounder in weakness. This calls for discernment. Weak pride is not easily recognised. It sounds like an oxymoron- like round squares. But it is not. Consider this relationship between boasting and self-pity.

Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says, "I deserve admiration because i have acheived so much." Self-pity says, "I deserve admiration because i have sacrificed so much." Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing.

The reason self-pity does not look like pride is that it appears to be needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego and the desire of the self-pitying is not really for others to see them as helpless, but heroes. The need self-pity feels does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognised worthniness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.

John piper, Desiring god: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.

When pride is not strong, it begins to worry about the future. In the heart of the proud, anxiety is to the future what self-pity is to the past. What did not go well in the past gives us a sense that we deserve better. But if we could not make things go our way in the past, we may not be able to in the future either.

So becareful when you are anxious for nothing. Turn from self-reliance to God-reliance, because one hindrance to casting your anxieties on God is pride. Pride does not like to admit that it has any anxieties. Faith admits the need for help. Pride won't. Faith banks on God to give help. Therefore the way to battle the unbelief of prise is to admit freely that you have anxieties, and to cherish the promise of the words, "He cares for you."

Something to think about

"Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches. But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for i delight in these things, declares the Lord." Jer 9:23-24

How do you fight pride? Be amazed and satisfied that we know God- and that He knows us. This "all-satisfying admiration" of all that God is for us in Jesus becomes the end of ourselves and the start of making much of God and who He is!

Bulks of passages taken from John Piper "Future Grace"