Prideful Confidence

Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.

Psalm 138:6 (NLT)

There is often a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Confidence is knowing, believing whole-heartedly that something is going to happen and choosing not to worry about it. Arrogance is more along the lines of knowing that something is going to happen and that you are the one who is going to make it happen because you are awesome. In many ways, arrogance is a prideful confidence. It’s all about you.

A prime example of the differences between the two can often be seen in sports, especially the NFL. Confidence is when the players believe in one another, their coaches, their game plan, and their abilities. They are prepared and are ready to help make things happen and believe they will win the game. Arrogance is the star wide receiver talking trash before and after the game about how great he is and that no one can cover him. Additionally, he grabs the credit for single-handedly winning the game. Confidence is a team that loses and doesn’t blame each other. They remain steadfast in their support and believe they will bounce back in the next match. Arrogance, after a loss, causes that same wide receiver to complain about not getting the ball enough, the officiating, and the coaches. Arrogance is pride being verbalized.

King David certainly had his moments of humility and pride (arrogance). So, David is an kind of an expert on these things It’s from this wisdom that King David penned our verse today, “Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.”

Essentially, what David is telling us is that we must be humble enough to realize that we need God in every aspect of our life – that He is Lord. When we are humble, we realize how small we are, and how great God is. But, when we are prideful, or arrogant, we only want what we want. It’s not about God, or our relationship with Him. It’s about what He can do for us. How He can make us great. As David points out, God chooses to care for those who want Him in their lives, who realize how great He is, not those who want to use Him as a magic genie to get out of a jam or to demonstrate how great they are.

Every day, give yourself a gut-check. Are you choosing God out of humility (I need Him, I trust Him, He is Lord) or out of pride (I want Him to do…for me)?

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