Over the next three days, I want to focus on three idols that I’ve seen not only in my own life, but all around me: pride, money, and people.
Pride, in particular, has been the root of more sin in my life than I ever realized. 1 John 2:15–16 says: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world.” Pride is often defined as a deep sense of satisfaction or self-worth based on our achievements, possessions, or associations. What John is warning us about is how easily that desire, to feel proud of ourselves, can become a trap. It can quietly grow into an idol that shapes our decisions without us even noticing.
I saw this clearly in my own life. In high school, I avoided joining a Christian club, even though I was going to church, because I didn’t think those were the “cool” people. I also convinced myself I didn’t have time to read my Bible because I was too busy with a second track workout, chasing the goal of standing on a podium one day. Looking back, pride was at the center of those decisions. It was subtle, but it was pulling me away from how God was calling me to live. The hard truth is that pride didn’t disappear, it just changed its appearance. In college, it showed up as an obsession with securing a high-paying job, which led me to stay in a major I hated. My desire for a relationship sometimes took priority over opportunities to grow spiritually. Pride became quieter, but no less powerful.
The enemy often works this way, slowly and subtly. C.S. Lewis captured this idea well in The Screwtape Letters: “Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” So here’s a question worth sitting with as you reflect on the idol of pride, what are you pursuing in order to feel proud of yourself, and could that very thing be pulling you away from God?