There is no doubt that the Bible has a lot to say about pride. For example, Proverbs 8:13 says that God hates pride and arrogance (it is interesting how often those pride and arrogance are mentioned together). Proverbs 13:10 says that Pride causes quarrels. Why? Pride tells you that you are always right, and the other person is always wrong. Proverbs 29:23 states that pride goes before a fall. King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26) is a classic example of a person whose pride caused his downfall. It is easy to understand why the Bible consistently warns us about pride and exhorts us to be humble.

Humility is the opposite of pride. Humility gives God credit, whereas pride takes the credit. Humility is all about God, whereas pride is all about self. Humility is thankful for God’s grace, but pride is indifferent to what God has done.

Pride can be challenging to define. There are almost as many different definitions of what pride is as there are dictionaries. Having read many of these definitions, I found it interesting how many definitions of them connected pride with conceit (thinking you are better than you really are). But for this article, I am more interested in the Biblical definition of pride. C.S. Lewis stated that pride is “an attitude of self- sufficiency, self-importance, and self-exaltation in relation to God.”¹ Interestingly enough, the Bible does not provide a dictionary-style definition of pride. It does something better. The Bible provides us with the symptoms of pride.

Why is knowing the symptoms of pride important? Let me give you a different example. Knowing the symptoms (or signs) of having a cold is essential to see if you have one. As soon as you see the symptoms, you know you have a cold and can start treating it. Pride is the same way. You need to know the symptoms to treat the “sickness” of pride. So what are the symptoms of pride?

1. Isaiah 48:11says that God will not give his glory to anyone. Stealing from God’s glory and taking credit for the gifts he gives us. We steal from his glory when we take credit for something God has done. This often shows up in the gifts that God gives us. For example, I am a writer; it is a gift that God has given me. If I take the credit for myself by stating that I developed the skill or the imagination that writing takes, then I take praise away from God and give it to myself, thereby stealing from his glory. If we focus on ourselves and our achievements rather than on God, who gave us those abilities, we are stealing from God’s glory, which is a symptom of pride.

2. Self-centeredness, or self-absorption. This is thinking of yourself first at the expense of others around you. This self-seeking and selfish ambition (notice how much the word self is being used) is a symptom of pride. This unhealthy love of ego will stand in the way of having a healthy love of God. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” When you are self-centered, you trust yourself and your abilities more than God and his abilities, which is a symptom of pride.

3. The sense of superiority. Superiority is nothing more than an exaggerated view of your own importance (in other words, arrogance). Galatians 6:3 (ESV) states, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Proverbs 21:24 says, “’Scoffer’ is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.” A scoffer is someone who jeers, mocks, derides, or “looks down” on other people. Superiority is a symptom of pride.

4. The use of sarcasm. Sarcasm is typically used to insult, ridicule, hurt, or cut another person down. Contrary to popular belief, sarcasm is not a spiritual gift. Please do not confuse sarcasm with satire. Satire uses irony to expose and discredit vice or folly. The Bible often uses satire to expose sin but never uses sarcasm. Satire makes a point; sarcasm attacks the person. Sarcasm is pride in disguise. People use sarcasm to build themselves up by putting other people down. Sarcasm is, therefore, a symptom of pride.

5. Being judgmental and critical. A judgmental and critical (faultfinding) person always sees another person’s flaws and is generally intolerant of others who are unlike themselves. This type of judgment is destructive and tends to tear down the recipient of the criticism. Matthew 7:1 states, “Judge not, that you not be judged.” Pride causes the heart to become judgmental and critical of others because they don’t meet “our” standards. Don’t overlook this important symptom of pride.

6. Impatience. Impatience is the refusal to wait for God, people, or developments. When we are impatient, we take our eyes off God, become anxiety-ridden, and sometimes even reckless in making decisions. We then look to ourselves rather than to God. Ecclesiastes 7:8 states, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” The verse lets us know that impatience is pride’s product (or symptom).

7. An unteachable spirit. An unteachable person is a person who already knows everything. The unteachable person doesn’t want your opinion or advice. An unteachable person will often pursue their own agenda or quest to their own detriment and even to the detriment of others. An unteachable person will prevent (or protect) himself from contradictory information that opposes his own beliefs, lifestyle, or sin. Pride is the cause of an unteachable spirit, so therefore, when you see it, please realize that it is one of the symptoms of pride.

8. Self-pity. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines self-pity as a self-indulgent dwelling on one’s own sorrows or misfortunes. What this means is that self-pity is an obsession with yourself. It is a warped type of excessive love of oneself. The problem is that self-pity is an easy trap to fall into. How many fathers or mothers have you seen that are loving and sacrificing for their family, and the next day they are hurt and bitter that all their hard work and dedication aren’t being noticed or appreciate-d. Self-pity takes God out of the picture, so we fill that void with self-love and self-pity. Self-pity demonstrates a lack of trust in God. Self-pity tells us, “it’s all about me.” Pride looks inward, not outward. Self-pity is a symptom that there is an issue with pride.

The above list of symptoms is by no means comprehensive. Rather than define pride, I wanted to show it to you by describing its symptoms. By recognizing some of the symptoms, you may recognize the disease. If you’re anything like me, you have experienced many of these symptoms. You may have noticed that all of the symptoms displayed a lack of dependence on God. To have victory over pride, we must have complete dependence on God. Ideally, we should have total reliance on God in every area, or aspect, of our lives. Many of the symptoms played on our fears, failures, and insecurities. If we don’t turn these issues over to God, they will become pride issues.

But herein lies the problem: pride is not always wrong. Pride is not always a sin. There actually is “good” pride. In 2 Corinthians 10:17-18, Paul told his readers to “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” 2 Corinthians chapter 10 talks about the characteristics of good pride. It is the type of pride that God wants to see in his people. All the bragging, boasting, and pride are centered on God. In chapter 10, Paul lists the characteristics of good pride.

In verses 1-6, Paul shows that good pride exhibits mercy.
Then in verses 7-11, good pride builds up people.
Finally, in verses 12-18, good pride is tenacious (persistent).

Good pride is gentle, gracious, and patient. Bad pride seeks vengeance, shows no mercy, and is self-centered. Let’s take a look at each set of verses.

Good pride exhibits mercy

2 Corinthians 10:1-6
(1) I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ - I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!
(2) I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.
(3) For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
(4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
(5) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
(6) being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Verse 1 talks about the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Meekness is often misunderstood. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is the Greek word “prautés – πραυτης” (Strong’s G4240) which means “gentle power, or strength under control.”² Meekness is choosing not to say something hurtful to someone when you can. Meekness is choosing not to criticize when you can. Meekness shows mercy in a situation when mercy may not be deserving.

Verse 2 is where Paul tells the Corinthians not to confuse meekness with weakness. Paul had demonstrated humility and meekness to the Corinthians, and they had apparently seen it as cowardice. They had misinterpreted compassion and mercy as weakness. Paul is defending himself by warning them that he will indeed show them boldness if he needs to, especially when they are walking in the flesh. Paul would have no problem confronting their sin if it came to that. The church at Corinth did not understand that boldness for the gospel and compassion must be joined together. They must operate hand-in-hand. Paul had been operating this way the last time he visited Corinth, but the Corinthians had not grasped that concept yet. Paul was bold for the truth, yet he refused to be abusive or self-righteous. Instead, Paul chose to model the meekness, gentleness, compassion, and mercy of Christ.

In verse 3, Paul tells why we should operate in the meekness and gentleness of Christ; we are at war. He says that though he walks in the flesh (in a human body), he is not waging war according to the flesh (with muscular strength or intellect). In saying this, Paul seems to be using a different meaning than we usually associate with this phrase. It is possible that he is intentionally turning it around from the previous verse to make his point. Instead of meaning living in a fleshly or worldly way (driven by the sinful nature), Paul seems to be changing the phrase to mean living only according to the limited abilities of a human body.

In that sense, Paul writes, his opponents are right. He is limited by his “flesh,” his body. He adds, though, a bit ominously, that he does not wage war according to the flesh. In the following verses, Paul will clarify that he sees himself as engaged in spiritual warfare. Paul’s disagreement with his opponents in Corinth was more than a mere political struggle over authority. Paul saw it as a spiritual battle that could have eternal consequences.

Verse 4 tells us that the weapons Paul refers to are not man-made but are heavenly in nature. Keep in mind that some of the weapons of this world are not physical. For example, insults, negative criticism, and emotional abuse are weapons that hurt people deeply. But these are not Paul’s weapons. Paul is not going to rely on his intellect, eloquence, knowledge, or physical strength. Paul knew from personal experience that only the power of God could destroy spiritual strongholds. Therefore, the word of God was the weapon that Paul preferred to use. In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul referred the word of God as a sword. That sword is so powerful that it can a person’s life. Only by knowing how to correctly wield the sword of the word of God can we be successful in spiritual warfare. If the sword is not being used with mercy, it is not being used correctly.

Verse 5 tells us that by using spiritual weapons, we can destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Paul was combatting these arguments and lofty opinions that weren’t just against him, but were actually hindering the knowledge of God. The people who opposed Paul (and more than likely introducing false teachings) prevented the church’s spiritual growth. But Paul wasn’t going to battle these people with the ineffective weapons of the world. The people attending the church at Corinth would have been caught in the crossfire of the battle of words. So instead, Paul would fight this battle on his knees. Paul’s opponents publicly attacked him, but he would not stoop to their level. In doing so, Paul showed the Corinthian congregation a tremendous amount of grace and mercy. He would once again demonstrate the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

Verse 6 tell us that the spiritual weapons punish disobedience. Paul’s concern seems to be that wrong teaching leads to wrong thinking, leading to disobedience to Christ. Paul was concerned about his reputation, he concerned about the church’s spiritual growth. If the church was disobedient to Christ, there could be no spiritual growth. Their obedience needed to be complete to move forward in their relationship with Christ. The punishment referred to in this verse could possibly include excommunication of those to opposed to God (1 Corinthians 5:1-2). It could also mean some form of spiritual discipline against the rebellious, though I do not know what that would be. My opinion is that Paul was warning those who thought he was too weak or soft-spoken in person to actually follow through on the strong words in this letter. Those people probably did not understand that mercy does not wink at sin.

Good pride builds up people

2 Corinthians 10:7-11
(7) Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we.
(8) For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed.
(9) I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters.
(10) For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”
(11) Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.

In verse 7, Paul points out what should be obvious; if Paul led them into salvation, then Paul is also saved. This causes me to think that the false teachers called Paul’s salvation into question. That logic would then cause the Corinthians to question their own salvation. Paul was letting them know that their salvation was secure, and so was his. The false teachers were inadvertently tearing down the Corinthians, so Paul intended to build them up.

In verse 8 Paul claims that boasting about the authority God gave him to build up the church is a good thing. Paul’s pride is not in himself, it is in God and for God’s glory. When a church is being built up and growing in its relationship with Christ, that is a good thing. Paul was proud to see this church growing spiritually. That pride was not in himself, but rather in what God was doing. As far as Paul was concerned, this pride was a good thing, and was nothing to be ashamed about.

In verse 9 Paul once again demonstrates mercy in his pride. He reassured the church about the purpose of his letters. His letters were not to tear them down, but to build them up. Rooting out sin causes growth. However, in order for the Corinthians to remove the sin, they had to be able to see it. Paul’s letter’s allowed the Corinthians the opportunity to remove the sin on their own, so that Paul wouldn’t have to come there and do it for them. It takes a lot of mercy to able to do that.

In verses 10 and 11, Paul points out he is the same person whether physically present, or addressing them in a letter. According to Acts 18, Paul was in Corinth for a year and a half. That was plenty of time for the church to get to know Paul. They knew how he lived, how he taught, his commitment to Christ, and how God powerfully used him. Paul was the same person whether in person or not. When Paul was present among them, his job was to build them up. Even when he was far away from them, that job did not change.

Good pride is persistent

2 Corinthians 10:12-18
(12) Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
(13) But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.
(14) For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.
(15) We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged,
(16) so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence.
(17) “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (18) For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

In verse 12, Paul notes that his opponents are commending themselves to the Corinthians based on secular standards that included the dramatic speaking ability and skillful self-promotion, which was all based on pride. Their boasting was that they were better than someone else. They were building themselves up by putting other people down. Paul called out this prideful behavior as being “without understanding” or without wisdom.

In verse 13, we find the Greek word ”καυχάσθω – kauchastho” (Strong’s G2744), which is translated as “boast.” Boasting can be thought of as self-praise, but in context, Paul’s boasting is God-praise.³ Paul reveals what he will boast about, which was the mission God had given him of reaching the Corinthians with the gospel of Christ. Paul was not stealing God’s glory but instead was giving the glory to God. It was the power of God that saved the Corinthians, not Paul’s ability to speak in public. If Paul took the credit for the Corinthians’ salvation, he would be “boasting beyond limits.” Any boasting that brings glory to yourself is “beyond limits” or not allowed. Boasting that brings glory to God is within limits or allowed. Paul was not boastful about who he was; he was boastful about who Jesus is.

In verse 14, Paul observes that he does not need to “overextend” himself or compete with his opponents. He didn’t need to be the world’s most impressive public speaker or have a flashy roadshow. He reminded the Corinthians that he was the first to present the gospel message to them. There was no need for him to return and outperform his opponents. The Corinthians were already saved; all that remained was to build them up in their faith.

In verse 15, Paul pointed out that he would not boast in work accomplished by others (his opponents) who attempted to claim the Corinthians as their own. This was impossible since it was Paul who had established the church there. Furthermore, Paul had introduced the Corinthians to Christ, something they knew well. Paul’s hope was that as their faith grew, his influence for Christ among them would grow, as well. Paul has a persistent determination to continually boast about what God is doing in Corinth. He is full of pride that God saved them. He is also full of pride that God is continuing the church’s spiritual growth. Paul is giving all the glory to God.

In verse 16, Paul voices his hope to bring the gospel of Jesus where people had not heard the gospel. He previously wrote that he hoped the growth of faith among the Corinthians would contribute to a greater area of influence (2 Corinthians 10:15). His drive was aimed entirely at creating more opportunities to preach the gospel. His hope seemed to be that as their relationship with Christ grew, it would allow the Corinthians to also take the gospel to new places - just as Paul did for them. Paul wanted to see the Corinthians plant new churches in other cities. That feat would be something that Paul would gladly give glory to God for.

Paul uses unique imagery in the latter part of this verse where he writes, “without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence.” The ESV translates the Greek word “κανών - kanōn” (Strong’s G2583) as “influence.” Other versions translate the word as “territory” or “area.” The word can be interpreted as a field.⁴ If you think of this as a farmer’s field, it will make more sense. It would be ridiculous for you to take credit for the crops planted in a farmer’s field when you weren’t there to prepare the soil, plant the seed, or weed the field. The credit goes to the farmer who performed the work, not you. Paul will not take credit for another person’s work. However, if the Corinthians go out and plant the “seed” of the gospel somewhere else and receive a harvest of saved souls, Paul gets to boast in the Lord that he trained the Corinthian “farmers.”

Verse 17 provides the goal of, and for, all boasting, which is God's glory. This appears to be a shortened version of Jeremiah 9:24, where the Lord said to Jeremiah, “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” Paul had presented evidence of his genuineness as an apostle (throughout the book of 2 Corinthians) and the falseness of his opponents, his boast (and pride) is always in the Lord, never in himself. Paul had pride, but his pride was in the Lord.

Verse 18 tells us that commending yourself is a waste of time. What does that mean to commend yourself? The word we translate as “commend” is the Greek word “συνίστημι – sunístēmi” (Strong’s G4921) means “to attract attention, to make known.”⁵ Paul was not about to brag about his accomplishments to promote himself so that he could be accepted as genuine (approved). The Corinthians accepted the gospel message and believed in Christ because of Paul’s preaching. For that reason, the Corinthians should know that the Lord has commended Paul. Therefore, God’s approval of Paul should be the only approval that matters.

Good pride is persistent. Paul could have become like his opponents and placed his pride in himself, but he refused to do so. Despite the difficulties and opposition, Paul persisted in taking pride only in God. Paul looked at himself as accomplishing nothing. Rather it was God who was accomplishing things through Paul. Paul saw himself only as an instrument in God’s hands. Good pride is persistent because it always (persistently) gives credit to God.

Good pride loves the gospel

In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” In English, the phrase “not ashamed” is what is referred to as a double negative. Double negatives are created by adding a negation to the verb and the modifier of the noun (adjectives, adverbs, etc.) or to the object of the verb. Therefore, a double negative is a non-standard sentence construction that uses two negative forms. As a result, double negatives are highly discouraged in English grammar. The Apostle Paul, however, wrote in Greek, not English.

When we read English translations of the New Testament, we often do not get the fullness of the grammatical and syntactical structures that the Greek words are actually stating and presenting. For example, in ancient Greek culture, double negatives were highly encouraged as a powerful way of making an argument. The double negative was used to emphatically deny something. In grammar, this is referred to as a subjunctive of emphatic negation.

What on earth is a subjunctive of emphatic negation? It strongly emphasizes the idea of “certainly not” or “never.” This was the most potent way to negate an argument in ancient Greece. But in modern English, we lose the meaning of what Paul is saying. Let me give you some examples. Let’s say you have a son on the basketball team who shoots the basket that wins the game. A friend comes up to you and asks, “So what do you think about your son winning the game?” Your answer is, “I am not ashamed of my son.” What? Here is another example. Let’s say you have a daughter who wins a beauty contest. A friend asks you what you think about your daughter winning the beaty contest, and you reply, “I am not ashamed of my daughter.” The phrase “not ashamed” does not convey the meaning in English as it does in Greek.

Because we don’t use double negatives in the English language, we don’t understand the message Paul was conveying. Because “not ashamed” is a double negative, we must look at the opposite meaning to understand the message. Interestingly, there is no opposite of “not.” You simply remove the word. So instead of “I am not ashamed,” the opposite would be “I am ashamed.” The opposite of “ashamed” is “proud.” Isn’t that interesting. Instead of saying “I am not ashamed,” we would say, “I am proud.” The phrase “I am not ashamed of the gospel” means “I am proud of the gospel.”

When Paul wrote that he was not ashamed of the gospel, his original audience understood that he was proud of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. But the gospel isn’t just for salvation. Beyond salvation, the gospel is the power of God for sanctification. The gospel makes us more and more Christlike. The gospel reminds us that our day-to-day acceptance with the Father is not based on what we do for God but upon what Christ did for us in his sinless life and sin-bearing death.⁶

The writer of the book of Hebrews also uses the double negative in describing God He writes (Hebrews 11:16), “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” God is “not ashamed” or proud to be called our God. When we desire this heavenly city — this dwelling place of God — more than we desire all that this world can give, God is proud to be called our God. When we make much of all he promises to be for us, he is proud to be our God. “Good pride” is not something strange, it comes from God himself.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that while the Bible does warn about negative pride, it also encourages us to use good pride. The Bible calls negative pride a sin, and we should never forget that. However, good pride that comes from God and glorifies him. Negative pride focuses on self, while good pride focuses on God. It all comes down to who we focused on, ourselves, or God. Where is your focus?