Atheists Encourage Pride

The resident atheist at Thesauros is offended that I dare to give to Creator God what the atheist thinks belongs solely to me - Pride and Glory for “my” accomplishments. The atheist says that I should be proud of any changes for the better that have been made in my character.

Humility, according to him is the wrong approach.

As every Bright knows, humility is for losers. Not taking credit for accomplishments is like lying to yourself. That’s why this atheist wanted me to adopt the greatest sin (probably the first sin) and certainly the most destructive sin in the universe -

Pride.

Ya. Good advice.

Let me say just a few things about pride

“This is the one upon whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.” Isaiah 66:2

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.” 2nd Chronicles 16:9

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:7

“At every stage of our Christian development and in every sphere of our Christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend.”
John Stott

“Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, s/he will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 16:5


Pride is when humans attempt to glorify the self in areas where only God deserves all the glory.

So the question becomes - What is humility? Or

Why can an atheist never be truly humble?

The answer? Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.


Now, sceptics often accuse Christians of promoting a “worm theology.” They accuse us of trying to get people to think less of themselves. Actually, humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is simply a way of being human in which you think of yourself less often. In fact Christianity as Jesus taught encourages people to strive for greatness.

If you look at Mark 10: 35-45, you’ll see a story of pride, full blown pride even in those who’d spent three years studying under the working definition of humility. Twelve men, proud men, so proud that Hugo would pat them on the back for having the right attitude, are arguing about who among them is the greatest. When Jesus asks them what the argument is about, appropriate shame strikes them speechless - for a short time.

Having gotten the right response to pride, Jesus continues His final trip to Jerusalem; a trip where He is willingly giving Himself over to be tortured to death for our sins. And while making this trip, two of the men, brothers James and John pick up the theme of greatness. So confident are they in their abilities that they ask Jesus (whom they believed would soon become the next Ruler of Israel, defeater of the Roman Empire) if they can sit as co Rulers with Him. “We can do it, Jesus. We’re proud of our abilities.”

So Jesus once again addresses the issue of pride with His students.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Don’t strive for greatness.” Instead, Jesus redirects their ambition. He takes them in exactly the opposite direction of that to which atheists aspire. He redirects their ambition in a manner that would have, and perhaps did make Nietzsche wretch. To help His students understand the essence of greatness, Jesus says to them, “I [the Creator of the universe] did not come into the world to be served, but to serve others and to give My life as a ransom for many - So Follow Me. Be like Me. Do as I do in My relationship with others, including you (Remember Jesus as the foot washing slave - even washing the feet of Judas the one Jesus knew was about to betray Him to death?). Don’t grasp for power so you can lord it over people as the pagans do. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be the greatest, that person must be the slave of all.”

Should I follow Hugo’s advice, advice that he truly believes is good for the world, where individuals motivated by self-interest, self-indulgence, and a false sense of self-sufficiency pursue self-glorification?

“You should be proud of what you’ve done.”

Pfft!

No thanks. Instead with the power and ability and desire that God places within me, I’ll serve others for the glory of God and the furthering of His Kingdom.

Besides, I’ve already been where Hugo advises me to go. I’ve already lived with the goal to become self-sufficient, seeking to cultivate self-confidence for the purpose of self-glorification. I’ve been there and in comparison to a life following Jesus, it’s third rate at best.

I’ll never be rid of pride completely, but thanks to God alone, I no longer run after it. I’ll leave that to atheists for whom pride is just one entity of their triune god.