Pride Causes Us to Be Contentious
September 3, 2020
Commentary
A person may be rich and have all kinds of material things but have nothing spiritually. Another person may be poor materially speaking but rich spiritually (v. 7). It is sad to see but those who posses riches often put their trust in their possessions. The rich man may need to use his money to buy himself out of trouble but the poor man is not threatened with someone taking his things (v. 8).
A MAN IS RICH ACCORDING TO WHAT HE IS AND NOT BY WHAT HE HAS.
It is an old saying that “it takes two to make a quarrel.” Just mark it down .. whenever you are at odds with someone else . . . pride is heavily involved. Pride causes us to be contentious with those who contradict us in opinion or personal desire (v. 10). It is easy to develop over the years an over-evaluation of our abilities and even grace. Pride loves to be paraded and will go to great ends to get the applause of men. When contention enters, what used to be a beautiful friendship is now a fallout. An example of this is the strife that came between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot. We need to learn the lesson of how Abraham dealt with this problem of offering first choice to the man who really had no title whatsoever to the land which God had given to Abraham.
Application
It is sad to see how pride causes contention in families and churches. You need to humbly ask God to reveal the hidden serpent of pride in each member of your family and ask Him to protect you from outbursts of temper, unloving judgments, impatience and a stubborn self-will. Memorize together (Rom. 12:18) and apply it today!!
Proverbs 13:6– 13 (NET)
6 Righteousness guards the one who lives with integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
7 There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth.
8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, thus the poor person has never heard a threat.
9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.
10 With pride comes only contention, but wisdom is with the well-advised.
11 Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away, but the one who gathers it little by little will become rich.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.
13 The one who despises instruction will pay the penalty, but whoever esteems direction will be rewarded.
Illustration: Two Ducks With a Stick And a Frog
In a certain pond, there were two ducks and a frog who were neighbors and the best of friends. They played together all day long during the summertime. But as the cold drew near and the water dried up, the ducks realized they would have to move. This would be easy for them, but what about their friend the frog? Finally, it was decided that they would put a stick in the bill of each duck, and then the frog would hang onto the stick with his mouth, and they would fly him to another pond. And so, they did. Just then, a farmer looked up and said to his wife, “What a great idea! I wonder who thought of that?” Proudly, the frog said, “I did!” Thus illustrating: “Pride goes before a fall!” (Taken from “Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, page 1100, illus. #4824)