Matthew 22:2-13 recounts a parable Jesus gave concerning a certain king, who invited people to the marriage of his son. Each invitee gave an excuse and refused to attend. The angry king then sent his servants to gather as many as would attend, whether of good repute or not. Amongst the invitees, there was one who was not clothed in the wedding garment. Verse 12 records that the king asked this guest:

“…friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, bind his hand and foot and take him away…”

It is evident from this scripture that the garment being spoken about here is not a physical one, since the guests didn’t have the privilege of meeting before this time to decide what type of garment to wear. The garment referred to, in this passage, must have been an invisible one, a spiritual one  the garment of the heart, the garment of humility.

Perhaps that man was wearing the same clothes as his friends and fellow guests; but no one else could see his heart. So, they couldn’t have known whether or not he came with the right garment. However, somebody saw through him-God Almighty, the King of kings.

For the rich deposit of the grace of God to be effectively stirred up and actively at work in your life, you must beware of the deadly plague of pride! Proverbs 15:3 declares that:

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

I believe God does not only behold the evil and the good, but also the humble and the proud. Deal with that pride in your heart, or else, it will deal with you. But if you take the following steps, it will help you in uprooting the poison of pride from your life.

How to deal with pride:

Humble Yourself

Constantly remind yourself that whatever you have, or you have become in life, which you may be tempted to be proud of, is given to you by God from heaven. John 3:27 says:

“…A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from above.”

That thing, which you are tempted to be proud about, is the gift of God. If it came from God as a gift, then you have no hold over it. If you allow it to make you proud, it can be taken away from you. It, therefore, means that you have no justifiable reason for pride.

Return all the glory to God

Learn to constantly give God the glory in and for everything. Whatever you have or have become in life, are all because of Jesus. If you learn to constantly give glory to God in everything, pride will have no place in your life.

Never make the mistake of attempting to share the glory with God. He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). After all, without Him (Jesus, you can do nothing (John 15:5). Remember King Herod, who attempted sharing the glory of the King of kings. What happened to him?

“And immediately the angel of the lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.” Acts 12:23

Recognize that pride has no profit

Remember that pride has never profited anyone. Rather, everyone that gave room to it suffered its deadly effect. The rich fool gave room to pride in his thought and he was destroyed overnight (Luke 12:16-21).

My husband once said, “God has such a powerful antenna that picks even your thoughts.” That is very true! God’s antenna picked the pride in the thoughts of the rich fool’s heart. The same way, it will pick it in your thought, if you give room to it.

So, pride, even in your thoughts, is dangerous. Do you remember Lucifer? He was made perfect from the beginning, but when he gave room to pride, he was cast down to the bottomless pit (Ezekiel 28: 1-19). His heart was lifted up in him and he suffered and is still suffering for it.

If pride has never profited anyone that gave room to it, then don’t give room to it because it will not profit you either. Remember that pride is the devil’s nature. Pride and the devil are partners in progress: wherever you see pride, the devil is at the root of it. His purpose is to destroy (John 10:10).

Each time you give room to pride, you are giving room to the devil. Ephesians 4:27 says: “Neither give place to the devil”.

This scripture could also be read as: “Neither give place to pride.” When you give place to pride, you give place to the devil. Don’t allow the nature of the devil, which is pride, to have access to your life.

Fight pride like you fight the devil, and it will flee from you…

This text is an extract from the book “GROWING IN GRACE” written by Faith A. Oyedepo. 
We invite you to read the following article “THE SPIRIT OF GRACE“.

BEWARE OF PRIDE! BEWARE OF PRIDE! BEWARE OF PRIDE!