Faces of Pride in the Ministry

Proud of Being Humble

A man was given a medal for being humble. After receiving the award, he pinned it to himself and showed everyone what he just got. When the jurors heard about this, they took it away from him.

We often point at people when we feel  like they are being proud, but we rarely recognize our own haughtiness. The following are some faces of pride in the ministry. The article will help us recognize some areas we need to check if we want to stay away from the repercussions of pride.

Faces of Pride

1. Unforgiveness

I am pretty sure we are familiar with the following argument: “Why should I forgive? He’s the one who offended me. He didn’t even ask for my forgiveness.”

Offenses inevitably come (James 3:2). It is never a question of opportunity to be offended, but what your response will be. When an offense comes, people who are meek:

a. Do not curse it
b. Do not rehearse it
c. Do not nurse it

Forgiveness is not an emotion; it is a choice. We don’t need to feel like we want to forgive; what we need is a will to forgive. 

Notice why the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith” (Luke 17:3-5). John Bevere observed, “The miracles had not inspired a cry for greater faith, or for raising of the dead, or of a calmed sea; but the simple command to forgive those who have wronged you!”

We must always remember that there is no apostolic revival without forgiveness. If we choose not to forgive and be united with our brethren, we choose to withhold apostolic revival. Revival and ministries strive in an environment of unity.

2. Illogical Blaming of Self

Some people always blame themselves when something goes wrong. It seems to them that success or failure always depends on them. Billy Cole once said to one of his trainees, “Whoever takes fault whenever something goes wrong will take the credit if something goes right.” If we’ve done our best, and entrust it all to God, there’s no need to worry.

This does not mean that we should not take responsibility for our actions. The point is we should free ourselves from our false perception of being the center of everything. Meek people do not have an image to save. Sometimes, we are too worried about our mistakes because we want to keep a reputation. Again, we have no reputation to protect but that of God’s. Blaming ourselves might just be a coating on our inner pride that we must surrender to God.

3. Hunger for Recognition

There was indignation among the disciples when the mother of Zebedee’s children asked Jesus to let her two sons sit on his right hand and his left hand in the kingdom of God. Jesus answered, “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27–28).

It is evident in this passage that Jesus didn’t intend us to hunger for positions or recognition. His pattern teaches us that we must not do something just for people’s applaud.

Meek people will work with or without recognition because they do not serve for rewards; they serve for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ through serving the people with love. We ought not to worry about who gets the credit. As long as God gets the glory, we should forget about everything else.

4. Mismanaged praise

It is interesting to note that humans are the only creatures God ever made whose head swells when you pat them on the back. Ministers are prone to mismanaged praise – the failure to honour God whenever someone praises us for our accomplishments.

People will recognise and appreciate what we are doing for the Kingdom of God, and there’s nothing wrong about that. As a matter of fact, we sometimes need those words of appreciation to uplift our spirit and keep us going. However, if praise puffs us up, then something is wrong with our spirit.

We cannot force people to stop expressing their approval for our praiseworthy efforts. We, however, can choose to give all the credit to the One who sits on the throne in heaven. If the spirit of humility truly clothes us, the fear of God will convict our hearts and compel us to give honour to whom honour is due.

“As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise” (Proverbs 27:21). A minister is tested by the praise he receives. If praise humbles us, then God can use us. But if praise puffs us up, we’re not yet ready for a promotion.

​5. Self-willed attitude

In Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual theory of personality development, psychologists believe that toddlers – children from 12 to 36 months old – develop a self-willed attitude as they enter into a “defiant phase.” Freud used the term “anal stage” to distinguish this stage marked by “conflicts with parents about compliance and defiance.”

If a strong-willed attitude characterises toddlers, a person who can’t bend to the will of God, therefore, suffers from a maturity problem! Pride’s philosophy could best be described through a strange version of an old hymn:

I’ll have my own way, Lord
I’ll have my own way
I’ll be the potter, You be the clay
I’ll mold You and make You after my will
While You are waiting, yielded and still

Human will dwells inside a person’s soul, and if this “outer man” is not broken, God cannot use him. Jesus, as a man, recognised the superiority of the will of the Father. If, for instance, pride got a hold of Christ, His unsurrendered humanity would have restricted God’s plan of salvation. Likewise, a minister could restrict or fail to manifest God if he will not choose to adhere to the will of God.

Can we really alter our plans if it is not in accordance to the will of God? Can we surrender our aspirations in the ministry if God would tell us to do so? Is God able to bend us to His will? If not, then the spirit of pride is lurking in our hearts

6. “I got this” mentality
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A preacher once informed me that he doesn’t usually prepare himself – polish his thoughts or write another sermon – whenever he is asked to preach. He arrogantly explained, “With my experience in preaching, I don’t get nervous. I would just stand behind the pulpit and think, ‘I got this!’”

Self-confidence, or self-assurance in one’s personal judgment, ability or power, could sometimes be a face of pride. There’s nothing wrong with our “I-can-do-all-things” mentality as long as we don’t miss out the next phrase, “through Christ who gives me strength.”

I strongly believe that “God-confidence” is better than “self-confidence” and that “God got this” is more reliable than “I got this.” It doesn’t mean degrading ourselves, but acknowledging the fact that we need God to do the things He wants us to do. Jesus, our true vine, reminds us, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5b).

Wind at Your Back

In the Scripture, the words wind and Spirit were translated from the same Hebrew word ruach. Now, Jonathan Cahn observed, “What happens if you walk against the wind? It creates drag. It becomes harder to walk and you get tired. In the same way, when you walk against the Sprit, it creates a drag in your life. Everything you do becomes harder. It takes more energy to do less . . . But if you turn around, then the wind gives you power . . . For those who walk in the Spirit, the Wind is at their back.”

The key in serving God is to be humble, freely flowing where the Spirit leads us in the ministry. When we try to walk against the circumstances, the purpose and the will of the One who sits on the throne in heaven, life and ministry becomes harder. When we rebel against Him, building our own Kingdom and pushing our own agenda, we are walking against a greater power that will soon topple us. Sooner or later, those who are clothed with the ancient evil – the spirit of pride – will be knocked down by the trials that God will permit to humble them for effective ministry and pride cannot happen at the same time.

Ministry becomes easier when we let God sit on the throne. The wind will be at our back, bringing all the resources and forces of heaven – provision, favour, spiritual authority, open doors and anointing. Ministers “who live God’s dream are not always the most flamboyant, popular and gifted people. They are the people who have been humble enough to be shaped by God.”

Those who give up their rights and will for the sake of the One who sits on the throne are the strongest and most qualified people to wield God’s rod of authority. People who save their lives – their will, reputation and rights – shall lose it. But whosoever loses his life shall save it. Jesus’ principles concerning leadership and ministry are quite ironic, but they are tried and true.