Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

The Giant That Felled David

“If you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, ‘How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronise me, or show off?’ The point is that each person’s pride is in competition with every one else’s pride…Pride is essentially competitive – is competitive by its very nature – while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.”– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

When you think of the life of David, one of two events probably come to your mind. You either remember the time young David slew Goliath; or you remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Both events were monumental moments in the life of David. In the first, David demonstrated his humility. In the second, David revealed his humanity. When David met a giant named Goliath, we are privileged to witness his greatest victory. When David met Bathsheba, we are forced to watch his greatest defeat.

Up until this moment, David had never lost a battle. But then he was soundly defeated by a giant far more powerful than Goliath could have ever hoped to have been. It wasn’t the giant of health problems, death, financial crisis, relationships, or any other problem or trial that you would list as the greatest troubles in your life today. This giant resides in the heart. This giant is pride.

When we look at David and his life we will see what happens when pride rules. As we have noted before, David had great men of honor and ability following him and one of them was Uriah the Hittite. He had a beautiful wife named Bathsheba. Uriah had only this one wife and David on the other hand had many wives. He was king and could choose whomever he wanted. Yet, because of his pride he desired something that was not lawful for him to have. He saw this woman as something that he had not conquered. He wasn’t thinking of the trouble it would cause him and his nation, he simply did what came natural to him. He saw an opportunity and he took it. Uriah was in battle fighting for his king and his country, David committed adultery with her and thought the matter was closed. In time, however, she sent word to him that she was with child and David went into full pride mode.

David then made a decision to ultimately cover up his sins and he sent Uriah back to the battlefield with a sealed note. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 2 Samuel 11:15

A widow was made by the intentional decision of a man filled with his pride. Judgment came to David and even more people died because of this tragic event. Was it worth it? Of course the answer is NO. When David was confronted, we see him come to a place of genuine repentance and sorrow. David quickly understood the situation and asked God for forgiveness.  His life had changed when he encountered God’s judgment first and then God’s grace.

There is just one way to be free from pride and it’s destructive ways. Humility crushes the wall of pride in our lives. There is nothing more deadly than pride and the only cure is humility and brokenness. As Christians, we must do whatever it takes to see pride rooted out of our life. We do that by getting down on our knees, pray, and believe that God is bigger than our struggles, our needs and wants. The worst is that it keeps us from God. It keeps us from repentance because pride makes excuses for sin rather than owning up and confessing. That is our barrier. Pride keeps us from triumphing over sin.There is only One that has the power to remove, and cancel sin. The only way to draw close to him is through a humble spirit. “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” – Isaiah 66:2

Discussion Question:

  1. What are some of the destructive elements of pride?
  2. In your own words describe how pride brings someone low and humility brings someone up.
  3. What are some good areas of pride?
  4. Does our emphasis on ourselves reduce our emphasis on God?
  5. Being open and honest, have you ever gone through a season when you struggled with pride? How did it affect your relationships with others? With God? How did God address that issue in your life?
  6. Pray and ask God to help you in any area of pride.

<PREVIOUS

NEXT >