Missed Insights About Pride

See the Pride series here

Prideful glory, exchanged, forever...

(Galatians 3:28–29)

I suppose we Christians might think we have a fairly good understanding of pride—that it is sinful, hated by The Lord, and The Bible is full of clear examples and consequences of, and warnings against pride. That’s exactly what I was taught and learned. That is until I took some time to pray about, meditate and study pride.

 

What is Pride?

 It may be helpful to consider pride from several layered perspectives: its definition, basis, sources, motivations, expressions, and spiritual position.

• Definitionally, pride is an inward, elevated valuation or sense of worth.
• It is based on internal feelings, opinions, or thoughts about an intrinsic or extrinsic action, idea, person, quality, or object—the target or focus of pride, i.e., self, others, or abstract ideals.
• Pride may be internally motivated by:
• a perceived elevation in achievement or status,
• a desire for greater recognition or influence,
• fear of being diminished, or
• comparison, envy, or jealousy related to perceived qualities, possessions, or achievements outside oneself.
• It may be expressed inwardly or outwardly as thoughts, words, or actions that elevate the self or personal associations. Prideful expressions may include: acclaiming, applauding, appreciating, boasting, bragging, crediting, esteeming, exalting, glorying, glorifying, honoring, idolizing, lauding, magnifying, excessive defending, promoting, revering, and worshiping. Such expressions may be subtle or brash, perceived or misperceived, judged or misjudged.
• Spiritually, pride may be sinful or righteous, depending on its motives, targets, and manner of expression.

Very likely, the last point may have captured your attention because we typically understand Biblical perspectives on pride to be sinful. Right?? That may well be biases from the perspective of our collective and personal sinful natures.

 

Have you noticed that The Bible never defines pride? Rather it floods us with examples and consequences of, and admonitions against sinful pride. That generally anchors our emphasis and focus. But in doing this, The Lord intends to draw us back to His original intent for pride!

 

Hold on! Hear me out…

The Original Intent for Pride

 

In the beginning, The Lord created everything, and then declared it to be GOOD. Moreover, His intention was for everything in creation, animate and inanimate alike, to know Him, and to function/perform in accordance with His DESIGN and GOOD intentions. He created humans (as a little lower than The Godhead), and angels (to serve both The Godhead and humans), to receive and enjoy His eternal Gracious, Loving Goodness, and in turn, to reflect their Appreciation, Devotion, Honor, Joy, Love, Praise and Worship back to Him, Their Creator. 

 

In this, do you perceive His intent for

reciprocating, righteous pride??

 

Pause for a moment… 

 

Does that concept startle you? It should. We're all so conditioned to associate pride only with sin, that the idea of eternal, righteous, reciprocating pride almost sounds heretical. And yet, that is exactly what The Lord created, and plans to redeem—not pride rooted in human or angelic self-exaltation, but in mutual exultation between The Creator and ALL of His creation—forever! 

 

The Lord created both humans and angels with free-will—the personal choice and opportunity to obey or disobey His intentions—the opportunity for rebellion. We all know …‘the rest of the story’. Lucifer was likely the first in The Lord’s creation to ‘cash in’ on/activate this opportunity, and thus he became the first fruit of sin. And just like a third of The Lord’s angels joined in his rebellion, so have we all followed suit. But thankfully, a few of us have opened our ‘wide shut’ spiritual eyes, to perceive and believe His plan of eternal redemption, to draw us back to His original …’reciprocating pride plan’! 

 

The Bible predicts He, Who created pride, will also be THE ULTIMATE source of all pride, throughout eternity, on a new, eternal Earth!

 

In this, can you perceive the full circle 

of His intent will be completed??

  

Meanwhile, pending that predicted 7th age of human history (the eternal age), in addition to examples and consequences of, and admonitions against sinful pride, The Bible iteratively informs us of what to be proud in, about and for. We might typically miss the full meaning of the following verses because of limited understanding of ‘glory’. Today, we don’t generally use ‘glory’ to signify the noun, pride, or the verb, to be proud. 

 

Please read, study and meditate on these verses. In doing so, I trust you will see that all pride is not sinful, and is not shunned across The Bible. The concept of righteous pride isn’t generally heard today. As a result, Christians might not be skilled in discerning what it is when they encounter it, especially when it isn’t shrouded in …religious rhetoric. 

Recall, the Pharisees claimed Jesus was sinfully prideful.

Righteous pride:

It’s a theological reversal that feels almost scandalous—

until it starts ringing true …in Scripture!

Show, Then Fell: Judah and America (Part 2)

 

See the series here

See the Ponder This... series here

See the Israel series here

Part 1 puts the spotlight on Hezekiah, a king of ancient Judah—the two southern Jewish tribes that remained in Palestine after the 10 northern tribes were invaded by Assyria, and their remnant populations were carted off to serve as slaves in Nineveh. Some time after The Lord healed him from a deadly illness, he was visited by a royal delegation from Babylon. He decided to showcase to his visitors, ALL of Judah’s great wealth, and its armory as well. (See: Isaiah 39) That was an echo of how King Solomon (King David’s son and successor), had once showcased Jerusalem’s splendor to the Queen of Sheba. But unlike Solomon, who honored The Lord in his explanations, Hezekiah’s prideful display lacked spiritual discernment—failing to realize that not every guest should be shown the nation’s treasure and means of defense. That moment, like many in history, may have become a divine tipping point. About 125 years later, Babylon did to Judah, what Assyria had done to ‘the 10 lost tribes’ of Israel.’

In light of America’s large military parade (celebrating the president’s birthday that coincided with the 250th anniversary of its army), and Judah’s experience, I began to wonder: what spiritual and strategic parallels might exist between ancient Judah, and modern-day America?

America and Judah both…

• Declared, but largely feigned faith in the same Judeo-Christian God, both having long benefitted from His Grace-blessings;
• Had long-standing exposure to The Lord’s Word, though with its declining effectiveness in national affairs.
• Were entrusted by The Lord to be, and reflect His Light to onlooking nations, and to judge internal affairs according to His righteousness.
• Had religious rituals, but lifestyles were hollow of devotion as both nations served various idols—Judah its multitude of carved images, and America its ‘in God we trust’ money, economic, military and cultural might. In both nations, public piety masked deep, national idolatry.
• Became increasingly corrupt, with self-serving, self-preserving leaders. Judah’s kings ignored The Lord’s Word, forged sinful alliances with neighbors; and America’s leaders politicize truth, enrich themselves, deflect spiritual accountability, and promote political survival, rather than Biblical righteousness.
• Allowed moral decay to become normalized and monetized, Judah with gross child sacrifice, sexual corruption, and priestly greed; and America with its sins tolerated and institutionalized, including wide-spread abortion, gender confusion, sexual exploitation, and an expansive prosperity gospel culture—sinfulness, tolerated, then institutionalized.
• Rejected, then silenced prophetic voices, Judah having slaughtered many prophets, and America’s Truth-tellers labeled as divisive and fanatical, and some were outright canceled in favor of those who preach acceptable soothing, social gospel and lies, in lieu of Truth.
• Had enemies who were preparing, while internal divisions grew, Judah, which became fractured, politically divided, and was unprepared for Babylon’s rise, and eventual invasion; and America which is staunchly, politically polarized and internally destabilized, while enemy nations strategically align against it, its ‘less-mighty’ currency, and its dissolving national unity, just as external threats solidify.
• Had ‘kick-the-can down the road’ leaders, with both Judah’s and America’s leaders living for glitzy, glory moments, rather than leading for Godly movements, in matters of morality, justice, righteousness, fiscal management, and foreign affairs, prioritizing personal legacy over generational responsibility.
• Suffered from irrational beliefs in special immunity from collapse, with Judah’s insistence that ‘The Lord would never let Jerusalem fall!’; and America’s ‘We’re the greatest nation in history—too big to fall’ rhetoric. In both cases, beliefs in national exceptionalism became a national, spiritual blindfold.
• Were blessed with the presence of a righteous remnant, with Judah’s faithful saints whose lives The Lord spared, some of whom became exalted exiles (e.g., Esther as Queen of Persia, and Daniel as the #3 ranked in the Babylonian Empire); and America’s Truth-loving prayer warrior remnant who discern well-deserved, approaching national judgments, and who cry out to The Lord for grace and mercy to lead us to national repentance, spiritual revival, and moral clarity. 

When asked if he was concerned about a day of reckoning for America’s national debt, Donald Trump, during his first presidential term, reportedly replied:

‘Yeah, but I won’t be here.’ *

Globally well-known for his great pride, I perceive this president effectively shouts to the world that America’s trust and confidence belies what’s printed on its money -- In God we Trust. Rather, we actually trust more in the nation's:

Military might

Political personalities

Economic dominance

National exceptionalism

Technology and surveillance

Debt-fueled illusion of prosperity

Dollar as the global reserve currency

After parading Judah’s wealth to high-level strangers from Babylon, Hezekiah had a curiously odd reply to a message The Lord sent to him via the prophet, Isaiah, about the future Babylonian invasion of Judah, because of her gross sinfulness.

‘The word of The Lord which you have spoken is good!

At least there will be peace and Truth in my days.’

(Isaiah 39:8)

 

In this odd reply, do you hear echoes of Donald Trump’s above-noted reply? In the manner that King Hezekiah’s ‘static’ parade seems to have confirmed Judah’s future fall, the military parade and many other prideful things President Trump has ordered, may not spark America’s pending fall, but I perceive they will very likely help to justify and confirm it.

Like Judah…

America’s ‘Show and Tell’,

Might become her ‘Show, Then Fell’.

Here’s why:

Judgment does not always fall in fire and fury.

Sometimes, it walks calmly, behind a parade of pride.

~~~

Ezekiel 38:13 predicts the fall of every military ally of modern Israel.

Daniel 2:44-45 predicts the fall of every post-Roman Empire nation.

----------

* According to unverified 2018 reports by The Business Insider and The Daily Beast. Though never independently verified, the widely circulated remark has come to symbolize his deeper indifference toward long-term national consequences. Trump’s track record—campaign rhetoric, advisor statements, major legislative proposals, and expert analysis—paints a consistent picture of someone willing to deprioritize national debt, especially if it serves short-term political or economic goals.

Opposite Biblical Patterns (Part 2)

One frequently repeated. One exceedingly rare.
Both possibly in motion today.

See the series here

The Bible is full of discernible patterns, interspersed with shocking reversals. Over the years, I’ve searched for, and reflected on many of these patterns. Some recur almost like clockwork (e.g., see Ezekiel 14:12-23), while others appear rarely in the entire Biblical record. Part 1 summarizes Agag typologies, an all-too familiar pattern that has persisted since ancient times, and sadly, that still continues in our day!

Let’s continue our review by exploring an opposite pattern, one that is very rare in The Biblical record, but seems to echo in history.

 

2. A Rare Pattern - Redemptive Acts + 50 Days

Unlike the frequent fall and destruction of Agag-types, leaders who significantly thwart The Lord’s declared plans for Israel, this pattern appears only twice in the entire Bible. Each occurrence involved a major turning point in human history.

Old Testament: 50 days after the Hebrew slaves fled from Egypt, The Lord (Jesus pre-incarnate) personally descended upon Mount Sinai to (a) write His laws onto stone tablets, and (b) give them to Moses—the first Old Testament prophet, to introduce the Hebrews to Him, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Who delivered them from 4 centuries of Egyptian bondage, so they would learn His ways, and follow His dictates.

New Testament: 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, The Holy Spirit descended to empower believers in Christ’s resurrection to (a) initiate the global expansion of the Gospel, and (b) shepherd growth of the Church. That was on The Day of Pentecost.

 These two major acts of redemptive deliverance, were followed by two GREATER acts of divine self-disclosure, exactly 50 days later!!! These four acts were solely Heaven’s actions, perfect timings, and authority, in furtherance of its Multi-millennial Strategic Plan for Humanity. These events comprise an exceptionally rare, mirrored and powerful! Biblical pattern.

Do They Matter Now?

Perhaps as echoes in our past, and possibly as watch towers in our future, these patterns may matter.

I wondered whether May 14, 1948 might signal some spiritual and/or secular significance long before, and beyond that specific day. So I asked ChatGTP to identify plausibly relevant, historical events in history that occurred on May 14th and July 3rd. See the results here:

 

Historical Echoes of May 14 + 50 Days

 

In sum…

May 14 repeatedly appears to be a multi-dimensional event marker of spiritual birth, nation-founding, covenant fulfilment, judicial warning, health dominion, and foundational, human breakthroughs. It was not only the day Heaven fulfilled its promised, redemptive act for Israel. It appears to echo broader, global signals, thus potentially carrying cosmic weight.

July 3 repeats across eras and regions as a cosmic hinge date, not only for Israel. This suggests watchfulness around that date might be doubly significant, especially if it may be embedded in The Lord’s timeline for nations. Ponder it as a plausible spirit-led pivot day of deliverance, national assertion, trauma, and spiritual recalibration.

Opposite Patterns, Divine Timelines

As often noted in this blog, The Bible is so much more than a spiritual and historical book! It pulses with rhythms, mirroring events, and God-timed echoes. While some patterns repeat often—like the fall of those who oppose The Lord's declared plans for Israel, others appear only twice across millennia, whispering their importance through their rarity. The Bible is not only The Lord’s Holy Spirit activating, Living Word. It is His documented, Multi-millennial Strategic Plan for Humanity. Period! The insights in this series magnify this assertion, well beyond the spiritual realm!!

In light of this review, I invite you to ponder this point with me:

What, if anything, might July 3, 2025 

and future May 14ths and July 3rds portend?

Heaven’s next movements in its divine cadence??

Mind you, this is not an invitation to predictive speculation and sensationalism. It is, rather, a summons to prophetic sobriety: for bona fide saints to watch, to discern, to pray. Heaven’s calendar continues to turn the pages in its massive Scripture of Truth book! And as we daily approach the predicted culmination of this 3rd age of history, we may be living through one of its most consequential chapters.

Conclusion

The Bible is chock full of patterns—the frequent and the rare; the expected and the unprecedented. Most of us may not perceive, let along pay attention to how they appeared in the annals of history. These are the rhythms in which The Lord moves—sometimes crashing through history, other times whispering …behind the veil. As His bona fide saints, our personal and collective jobs are to study, meditate, listen, reflect, and share what we perceive, and to adjust our lifestyles as His Holy Spirit leads.

Show, Then Fell: Judah and America (Part 1)

See the series here

See the Ponder This... series here

See the Israel series here

All nations, friends and enemies alike, take great pangs to spy-out the intrinsic wealth and defensive capabilities of other nations. That’s just what nations do, driven by plain ole human nature. In doing so, envy, a most pervasive human trait, is likely triggered, but it’s generally tempered, that is… until an opportune moment arises!

Such a moment arose for Babylon about 125 years after an earlier king’s son and his entourage, visited Hezekiah, King of Judah in Jerusalem. They were treated to a fabulous display—a ‘static parade’ of sorts, of ALL Judah’s treasures, including its armory! About 125 years later, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, invaded Judah, raided and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, and carted off to Babylon, ALL of its treasures, plus the best remnants of its population to serve as slaves.

Where there any connections

between these two events??

Any connections between Hezekiah’s ‘parade’ of Judah’s excessive wealth, and Babylon’s invasion, might not have been causative, but were plausibly confirmative! The Lord had long warned Judah to turn from its grossly sinful ways, or else, it would suffer His similar, severe judgments that Israel (the 10 northern tribes) had suffered – years of siege by Assyria, ending in a final invasion and capture of most survivors who became slaves in Nineveh. (NB Over time, the descendants of these people became known as the 10 lost tribes of Israel.) So in The Lord’s perfect timing, He declared He would mobilize Babylon to invade Judah, destroy the temple, and capture the best of the survivors to serve as slaves in Babylon. 

Hezekiah was regarded as righteous, trusting in The Lord, both spiritually and physically. (NB: Prior to the above-noted visit, The Lord had healed Hezekiah of a deadly illness.) I wonder whether his parade of Judah’s wealth and armory to perfect strangers, may have revealed the level of his trust and pride in his small nation’s vast wealth and battle-tested defensive weapons and capabilities? For centuries, the tremendous wealth in Solomon’s Temple alone, had likely ‘caught the eyes’ of many envying nations, both across the region and beyond!

Judah’s ‘Show and Tell’,

Became her ‘Show, Then Fell!’

Nations, beware what you pridefully parade

before your friends and enemies!

The U.S. president ordered a military parade (the biggest, most unique in the country’s history). It was for his birthday, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Complete with thousands of uniformed soldiers reflecting past and present eras, musical performances, parachuting bravado, plus lots of heavy weaponry, equipment, and fly-overs of vintage and newer aircraft, all to celebrate and display to the onlooking world, the army—the country’s first military service to be established. Across the nation, this order triggered lots of resistance and derision, much of which relates to the excessive cost, at a time when the administration is undertaking severe austerity measures, imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports, and deporting countless, undocumented migrants who make-up a growing proportion of the labor force in jobs that do not attract Americans.

In light of that and Judah’s experience, I pondered what and how much might America and Judah have in common??