[This is part 7 in a series on “pride in the scriptures.” See part one, two, three, four, five, six, eight]

Leaving Egypt Ministries, Obadiah D. Morris

As I mentioned in a prior article, many Christians like to arbitrarily exclude certain forms of pride, such as their “patriotism” and “love of country,” while retaining this label for relatively innocent or watered-down forms of pride, such as an individual’s narcissism or telling your friend that you’re proud of them.

This, of course, is mental gymnastics to make them not guilty for their own statolatry (i.e., their idolatry toward the State). If a concept of the sin of pride were to be consistent, it would certainly have to include the political variety of patriotism, nationalism, and veneration of politicians, soldiers, police officers, etc. Those who say things like “we have the most powerful military in the world” or “we support our law enforcement” are surely among the “proudful.”

But, as I have argued, if there was any pride God is really concerned about, it is precisely the very pride that “Christian statists” (contradiction) have somehow made exceptional to the rule: patriotism, state-worshiping, statecraft, rulership, flag waving, joining the military, wearing a badge as one of Pharaoh’s “law enforcement” officers, etc.

If either were to be downplayed, we would have to put personal issues like narcissism on the back-burner to these absolutely evil, social displays of pride that are found in the idolatry of statism. These are the things that are truly prideful in the worst, most destructive sense of the term.

It is not insignificant that these things—flags, political signs, bumper stickers of politicians, thin blue line stickers—abound in our society. These are the very things that are representative of the forms of idolatry that God hates. Their abundance (often the first car you get behind) doesn’t somehow make them alright or prove that it’s not the essence of sin and idolatry. Men, being in rebellion with God, proudly display their love of false gods all throughout their lives, from their clothing, vehicles, the front of their homes, and the social media pages. There’s a reason the symbols of statism pervade our society: men are proud, sinful idolaters.

To exclude statism—both the seizing of power itself and the worship men have toward these false gods—from our understanding of everything that God hates is to completely dilute the Biblical understanding of pride, which is most often applied to the “lofty” and “haughty” men who raise themselves up as rulers over people and the individuals who find themselves worshiping these regimes. We have, for instance, the loftiness of King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:26), the pride and arrogance of the kingdom of Moab (Jeremiah 48:29), etc.

God was not just writing against the individuals who walk around with a smile, but the “proud” state rulers (and their worshipers) who believe they are gods.

While we should avoid seeming as if pride is acceptable in individuals and that men shouldn’t strive to humble themselves, it is the sinful idolatry that is bound up with statism and the audacity to rule over others that the scriptures are talking about when they speak of pride.

God’s focus on the prideful rulers

The psalms of David are not talking about being surrounded by mere narcissists, though rulers are certainly that, too. (This alone isn’t good enough because not all narcissists are violent or hold political power). “The proud” that surrounded him were the kings and the king’s footmen that were sent to stalk him.

The prophets weren’t merely talking about God tearing down some vain individuals who thought too highly of themselves. These “proud” men were the ones ruling over kingdoms and exalting themselves as being on the same level as the Most High God.

God’s anger in the scriptures isn’t directed toward teenagers with social media accounts, as some men seem to want us to believe. It is the prideful state rulers who God reserves his wrath for. God’s judgment comes down upon prideful statists and their societies. As God said of the Babylonian empire, which was surely full of statist idolaters just as American society is today,

“I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless” (Isaiah 13:11).

These statements of pride are clearly directed toward state rulers like king Nebuchadnezzar and king Belshazzar of Babylon, who were full of pride, arrogance, tyranny, oppression, plunder, kidnapping, slavery, and general evils (2 Kings 24:13, 25:1; Ezra 2:1, 5:12; Jeremiah 21:2, 21:7, 22:25, 25:9; Ezekiel 26:7, 29:19; etc).

It is completely arbitrary to exclude political rulership and statolatry and to reduce pride to nothing more than an individual’s heightened sense of self. It is the former, not the latter, that enrages God. It is pride-in-the-state that is the very thing that leads a people to disaster, for empires are fueled by such idolatries as this.

Statism is not some innocent or acceptable form of pride, as many have sinfully thought. Statism is a religion, whose god is men. Statism is pride manifested into a death cult, arguably much more heinous and evil than the “pride” of celebrating some personal achievement.

When the scriptures say that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18), they are speaking more so of the pride of statism—the god-like status of rulers and the idolatry toward these false gods—rather than, say, simply a country full of pretentious men who slick their hair back and hope that everyone looks at them. It is the pride of statism that is most dangerous for a people and most inviting of God’s judgment. The pride of statism leads to gigantic states that plunder societies and leave them desolate.

The pride of state rulers and state worshipers

If one reads the scriptures aware of the political circumstances that it is often referring to, rather than as some devotional or motivational work, they will see that it is statists—both the rulers and their followers—who are “the proud.” And yet, one would struggle to hear a preacher giving a sermon on this point! Most of the necessarily political concepts—things that are referring to the evils of statism—have been watered down into nothing, making the word of God to no effect (Mark 7:13). Rather than pointing to the state rulers, “idols” are made out to be something as benign as “social media accounts,” and “pride” is the man who walks around with his chin up (or something like that). While some preacher may rightly caution individuals against being too individually prideful, one will rarely find him rebuking his congregation for their worship and service to the State (probably because he has flags up on the church himself and servants of Pharaoh in his congregation).

But God is talking about the pride of people who rule over others, as well as the pride exhibited by those who root for those in power, not some individual fool who has a high opinion of himself (though, this very sin in the individual man is what leads men to believe they are special enough to join the ranks of the rulers and control other people and their property).

It would be highly devaluing of God’s word to act like “pride” is the feeling a child has when he scores a goal for his soccer team and takes the win. (Likewise, it would be severely devaluing to the ethics of God to treat the commandment against theft as being for the child who steals a candy bar, but not for the men who call themselves “governments” and rob people of billions of dollars in what they call “taxes”).

Whether one is a supporter of these system of human rule, or one of those whose ego and arrogance lead them to think they have a right to rule others, these are “the proud” who God is concerned with. And it is not a pride that can be legitimately distinguished from some other, supposedly-greater form of “pride” like a man boasting about how great his lawn looks or how beautiful his house is (though these men are certainly lost in the world too), as some have argued who dismiss statist pride and put the focus on egotistical individuals. Surely, this “pride” is nothing compared to the pride that men have when they strap on badges and boots for Pharaoh and believe that no judgment will ever come upon them for harassing, robbing, caging, or murdering God’s people.

Pride in individuals

While I have emphasized the pride of statism, we shouldn’t sound as if we are dismissing pride in individuals. We are also told to avoid the pride that is also found on an individual level, where men try to elevate themselves among their brothers in a non-political way and forget to care for their neighbors (Philippians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 10:24, Colossians 3:12, John 15:13, Mark 12:31, 1 Samuel 2:3, etc).

This is a problem too that should cause one to reflect on themselves. The pride that originates in individuals—narcissism, ego, feelings of supremacy—is what manifests in statism, i.e., what leads people to seek power or stand in support of those who do.

Falsely exempting statist pride

Yet, this “American patriot” who argued with me that patriotism is not pride tried to argue that “not all pride is equal” as a means to exempt his idolatry — and argued in the direction that personal pride (arguably less harmful) is unacceptable but pride-for-country (arguably worse) is completely fine. He even went one further and claimed that it’s one’s “godly duty” to get behind “the country.” Surely, the worldly culture taught him this, however, and not the word of God.

But if we give the benefit of the doubt that pride is pride—and I am more inclined to argue that the pride of statism is way more grievous and sinful than an individual boasting about his accomplishments—and place all pride in the same category as sin, then we should be able to show that the pride of statism is doubtless to be included among any other conception of pride, rather than excluded as our “patriot” has done.

I emphasize the pride of statism mostly because God does and because it’s often ignored among Christians, not to mention the greater disasters involved with ruling over other people through so-called “governments.” But God still thinks that all pride is a problem. “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5).

But if we ignore the relentless political element in the scriptures, i.e, the prideful state rulers and the “patriotic” followers, we are reducing God’s word to a self-help manual when it’s more so a freedom manual against the statists. Even if we want to class all potential forms of pride as sin, there is, I submit, no worse pride then the type of pride that state rulers and their idolatrous supporters hold. I think God would agree.

The word of God may as well have said, “Patriotism goeth before a fall.” In the books of the prophets, men are admonished to turn away from the statist systems of the world lest they face judgment at the hand of God. Worshiping state systems is, if anything, the type of foolish and consequential pride that God’s word repeatedly covers.

And yet, many conservative “patriots” (who pretend to have a King in Jesus) will point out the pride in “gay pride parades,” which is absolutely a part of the evils and the pride of our people, but never see that God likewise hates their patriotism and their power-worshiping. This is because they have been raised in the world, which is under satanic deception, and have not truly become born again in Christ.

For instance, I saw a post online with many Trump-worshipers laughing at a lesbian soccer player for injuring herself and citing the seemingly popular scripture that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). But none of them seemed the slightest bit aware that this would apply to their statist society, where “patriotism” and worship of state rulers leads a society to its end.

While God is arguably more concerned with the pride of statism than the spirit of pride in an individual, it’s not possible that we can exclude statist pride from a conception of pride. And there’s every reason to think it should be given more weight.