Pride

Robert C. Shannon

Recently The Wall Street Journal carried a story from the small town of Erwin,
Tennessee. The local state representative had sponsored several bills and was
responsible for naming 23 bridges in the region. At first he named them for
local heroes. Then he named some for prominent citizens. Then he named some for
his friends. Every bridge has a name. When someone asked long time U.S.
Congressman James H. Quillen if he had noticed all those green signs he said no
but he had noticed the sign on Interstate 181 naming it in his honor — the
James H. Quillen Parkway! His candor is to be appreciated. And it’s quite
natural that we notice things that bear our name. In fact, no letters in print
ever look better to anyone than his own name. That kind of pride is
understandable and excusable. There is another kind of pride that is dangerous
and often the root of evil.

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Pride

Recently The Wall Street Journal carried a story from the small town of Erwin, Tennessee. The local state representative had sponsored several bills and was responsible for naming 23 bridges in the region. At first he named them for local heroes. Then he named some for prominent citizens. Then he names some for his friends. Every bridge has a name. When someone asked long time U.S. Congressman James H. Quillen if he had noticed all those green signs he said no but he had noticed the sign on Interstate 181 naming it in his honor – the James H. Quillen Parkway! His candor is to be appreciated. And it’s quite natural that we notice things that bear our name in fact, no letters in print ever look better to anyone than his own name. That kind of pride is understandable and excusable. There is another kind of pride that is dangerous and often the root of evil.

-Robert Shannon, Preaching March/April 1998

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Pride

Before the United States pulled its troops out of Lebanon, Anthony Lewis wrote a column titled, “The Longer We Stay, The Harder It Will Be to Get Out.” He was concerned about the “no turning back” pressure that seemed to grow daily as the U.S. watched the marines become more and more involved in Lebanon’s strife. One act of commitment led to another. Lewis projected that the country’s predicament sounded something like this: “We’d look weak if we left under pressure. We just have to stick it out until there is some way of saying that we have accomplished our mission.” Although U.S. troops were able to leave Beirut, history indicates the Lewis’ arguments were well-founded. Pride makes getting out of a difficult situation even harder as time wears on.

-Sermons Illustrated November/December 1988

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Pride

J. Michael Shannon

Earl
Allen told the story of how King Ptolemy decided to commission the building
of a huge lighthouse. He ordered Sostratus to construct it. The lighthouse
was called “The Pharos” Ptolemy required that the structure should bear his
name, but Sostratus did not think the king should be given sole credit. Nevertheless,
he complied and in thick plaster, Sostratus inscribed the name of Ptolemy.
Secretly, beneath the plaster, in granite, Sostraus inscribed his own name.
As long as the king lived, he saw his name on the building. With time, however,
the sea wore away the name of Ptolemy, leaving eventually the name of Sostratus.

_______________

J.
Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnati Bible College in Cincinnati,
OH.

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Pride

“In the summer
of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds
of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the
disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the
accident. It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction – or even thick
fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s
presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports,
neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield
first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.

“Pride gets in the way of good intentions. The Bible calls believers to
have a humble heart, to watch out for one another. In your life journey, are
you aware of those around you? Watch out for the other hearts that are cruising
along the sea of life, love the way you want to be loved. Practice humility.”

– Turning Point Daily Devotional, 7/21/03

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Pride

C.S. Lewis called pride “spiritual cancer,” which eats up love and contentment. It is actually a sign of our own insecurity and feelings of inferiority. Spurgeon poetically warned us not to be proud of race, face, or place.

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Pride

A Rabbi and a New England Minister were getting to know one another. Proudly, the minister exclaimed, “One of my ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence.”

“I understand your pride,” responded the rabbi. “One of my ancestors signed the Ten Commandments.”

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Pride

Corrie Ten Boom used to tell the story about a proud woodpecker who was tapping away at a dead tree when the sky unexpectedly turned black and the thunder began to roll. Undaunted, he went right on working. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the old tree, splintering it into hundreds of pieces. Startled but unhurt, the haughty bird flew off, screeching to his feathered friends, “Hey, everyone, look what I did! Look what I did!”

This old woodpecker reminds me of people who think more highly of themselves than they should. Usually they are so busy bragging about their achievements and their greatness that they fail to recognize God as the source of all their abilities. They are suffering from spiritual delusions of grandeur. Without the Lord no one amounts to anything, and in our own strength we cannot please Him.

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Pride

J. Michael Shannon

A man came to his wife and said, “Honey, I want to confess a great sin.”
“What is it?” she asked.

“The sin of pride,” he answered, “Why this morning I just sat
an hour before the mirror admiring how handsome I am.”

“Honey,” said his wife, “that’s not a sin of pride, that’s a
sin of imagination.”

_________________________

Michael Shannon,
Cincinnati Bible College

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