J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) once said: “Pride is the innermost coat, which you put on first and take off last.”

Pride was the first sin; pride is the continuous sin we fight every day, and pride is the justification we use daily to soften our own faults. It can come in the form of vanity, arrogance, self-reliance, stubbornness, self-absorption, self-pity, and control.

Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

We as believers must constantly remind ourselves of our great reliance on our Holy, Holy, Holy God. Who was, is, and is to come, without whom we would face the coming wrath of our Father in Heaven. When we feel a spirit of pride taking root in our hearts, let's be reminded that we are not being compared to our fellow man but to a HOLY GOD (emphasis added). This often reminds me of the Prophet Isaiah, where he says, “Woe is me! For I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips.” (Is 6:5) Isaiah had just laid his eyes upon the throne of Heaven, and there he saw the Lord…his only response was “Woe is me!” May we, like Isaiah, recognize our lowliness before a Holy, Holy, Holy God.