PRIDE FIRST AND THEN THE DOWNFALL Pride means a conceited sense of one’s superiority (Strong’s concordance) Broken down into everyday language, prided means to trust in yourself and your material gains more than you do God. Now I am not talking about taking pride in what you do. No. I mean being proud of yourself, based on how much gain you have, or how good you look. I mean not being able to do certain types of jobs because of what people might say about you. I mean riding around in a BMW and can’t afford to pay your rent. I mean being covered in gold but not giving others. Pride is a subject that few people deal with, yet the Bible tells us that pride goes before a downfall. (Prov 16:18) And only by pride comes contention (Prov 13:10) Pride hinders a person from giving their heart to God. (Ps 10:4) Pride is more deadlier than cancer because it blinds a person from seeing how ungodly they are. Pride makes one think he is always right. All pride is based on the material gains of this world. Prideful people feel that they are better than the average person because they adorn themselves with gold, name brand clothes, or flashy cars. A prideful person is so busy trying to get others to look at him that he can’t hear what is going on within him. A prideful person wears his feelings on his shoulder and is very easily offended. People full of pride always need people around them that are in a lower social position. This makes them look much bigger. And if they meet someone who is better off, they try to bring them down. When a person is full of pride, he refuses to share the lime lights with anyone else. Prideful men always look for others to give them praise. You can easily spot a prideful person, cause everything about him says, look at me. Only prideful people will stand up for their opinion to the point of physically abusing others. Embarrass a prideful person and you will have a fight on your hands. A person full ll of pride cannot back down cause he needs to look big in front of others. His whole existence depends on others seeing him as somebody big. The reason why pride goes before a downfall, is because prideful people have a very small vision. They only see what they choose to see, and that´s no father then their noise. You can talk day and night to someone full of pride, and they will not understand a word. Most prideful people say they know God. Well to know God is to love God, and when you love God you must love others. Loving is so humbling that it is opposite from pride. Prideful people interpret the Bible to best fit their need. They use the name of God to get what they want, but deep inside they are a stranger to God´s Love. This my friend is the true test of pride or love. A person filled with love will treat others the way he wants to be treated. Contrary to a person filled with pride, who demeans others. Everything about a prideful person is false. The lies he tells, the way he dresses, the way he walks, and the thoughts he has. For a prideful person knows not the image of God which he was created in. He is so full of himself that he becomes his own God. Blocking the HOLY SPIRIT FROM COMMUNICATING WITH HIS HEART. Yes mankind has the power to block the Spirit of God from directing and guiding their path. This is the very reason why a man can live prideful. Pride becomes the master, and the Holy Spirit will not go against our will. Let it be known that if the Holy Spirit went against our will, mankind would all love one another! God being the Father of Love, and creating man in that image. Now you can see this is the reason people are caught in so many traps. When we begin our lives with a lie, we must continue in that lie, until we decide to accept truth. We surround ourselves with people we neither know or want to know, not understanding their is a brotherhood to all mankind. We train our children to be proud when they are very young, by buying unnecessary junk just to make them look better than anyone else. In return our children learn to see themselves better than anyone unable to meet their high-class of dressing. There could never be a war without pride. For pride carries a contagious parasite called selfishness. Everything is fine long as I, and my immediate family can maintain a certain standard. This is how we teach children to continue in the same mistakes as their parents. What would their be to fight for if everyone humbled themselves and refused to hurt their fellow mankind? Who could stand to see a child and woman lying in the streets slaughtered like animals? Don´t you see it is pride that goes before a downfall? Pride stops a man from being all God created him to be, in the first chapter of Gen 1:27. Man lives opposite from the IMAGE OF GOD, when he has not the love of God. Mankind does not live in the likeness of God when he is full of pride. Remember pride is from this world. And pride will be left here alone with your nice car, fine clothes and all your goal. Will you have what it takes after pride is left in the grave? Will you miss the one chance you have to be a servant unto others? Do these exercises at home to test your pride level. Take one day out of a week to be all that your loved one need. Give someone you love a chance to be all they can be. On this day do nothing without your partner´s approval. Treat someone you don´t like to a touch of love. One day of the week don´t allow anyone, or any circumstance to upset you.These exercises are designed to lower you pride level. For more intense training, to get rid of pride. Try giving your heart to the Spirit within your spirit, and asking for guidance. The Spirit says to come just as you are, and I will guide you to humbleness. Here is your chance to die to pride and live before you die!