If we understand that God’s love is so powerful (John 3:16), what does that say about His hate? I don’t think that there’s really any way to get around this. God hates pride and arrogance. Let that sink in for a second.

I’ve been actively trying to battle pride for the past couple of years, and it’s been tough. You see, the tricky thing about pride is that pride hides pride. It’s hard to see you’re prideful when you’re prideful. It is a terrible sin, because it destroys (Prov 16:18-19). It has the tendency to wreck havoc, cause serious collateral damage, and cloud one’s judgement. In fact, it is a sin that causes people to reject God entirely (Psalm 10:4). And needless to say, it can be super annoying.

Here’s the kicker – a number of you, while reading the last paragraph, nodded in agreement as you thought of someone who exemplified pride beyond belief. Yet you may have failed to assess yourself because your pride shielded your thoughts from self-examination. And you may continue to do so as you read on. Just to be realistic.

Below is a hodgepodge list of things I’ve learned while God has taught me to be humble. I share them with you because maybe these things will be edifying to you.

• A prideful person does not admit his pride.

A humble person can admit they are prideful. C. J. Mahaney, a pastor who is known among many Christians for his humility, claimed he was prideful. He even stepped down from pastoring to address his own pride.

• A prideful person will not admit he is wrong. If it is proven he is wrong, he will redirect the conversation at someone else and not admit fault. Or he will change what he originally said to hide that he was wrong.

A humble person knows how to be corrected. He will listen carefully and consider the correction even if he does not initially agree with it.

• A prideful person is not quick to listen, and does not seek to understand. In his pride, he makes assumptions and takes rumors as fact. He acts on it without proper evidence and consideration, pretends to know everything, and thinks he knows the best for everyone.

A humble person knows how to be quick to hear. And that means they put what they hear into careful and fair consideration. They also gather substantial verification before addressing it (as my brother and sister in Christ did in my previous post).

• A prideful person is often quick to anger, because he is quick to speak and slow to listen. He is easily offended by small things, and has a habit of nitpicking at other people.

A humble person knows that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, and therefore follows James 1:19-21.

• A prideful person disallows himself to take advice or inspiration from someone younger.

A humble person knows that there is much to learn from the young. If anything, some of the most important things I have learned in life are from those who are younger than me.

• A prideful person, because of his lack of humble attributes, has a tongue of fire, a world of unrighteousness (James 3). He spreads rumors and slanders others.

A humble person knows how to be edifying with his words (Eph 4:29).

• A prideful person is unable to properly love others (even those that are close to him), because his lack of understanding taints his actions. He does not seek reconciliation with others, feeding his self-image of superiority.

A humble person strives to win the affection and respect of those he loves, friend or enemy. He seeks for the unification of the body of Christ, and knows that the body is strongest when all parts seek to work together. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

• A prideful person seeks to defend himself every chance he gets. He will pretend like he is the victim when he is really the one slandering others.

A humble person knows how to be quick to listen and slow to speak. He is willing to let the other party have the last word, and will let his actions speak for his reputation rather than just his words. Jesus Christ is the great example of this.

• A prideful person would dare to defend and justify his pride if it is pointed out to him. He can look at a list like this, nod in agreement, and judge others while failing to see and repent of his own pride.

A humble person will acknowledge his serious sin of pride and seek forgiveness and repentance.

So there you have it. I am still prideful, and I still have a lot to learn, and I wish my pride would just die. Because I’ve seen pride do atrocious things all around and in me. And God hates pride.

In fact, after I hit this publish button, I’m gonna go back through those points and re-evaluate myself. Maybe I wrote this blog post out of pride.