What is the worst sin, and why is it pride?
What’s the worst sin in the eyes of God? Or, let’s ask, what sin should we talk about and resist the most? Should not the answers be the same?
Various professing Christians would have many different replies, and they would likely be determined by their political and/or theological persuasion. Conservative Christians would probably say abortion, homosexuality, and transgenderism; progressives might say racism, greed, or neglect of the poor. Basically, whatever sins the other side is committing or seen as defending.
That kind of tribalism is the most telling characteristic of those answers, and why none of them is the correct response.
Don’t get me wrong; all of those things are wicked abominations. But if we were to rank one thing above all that is the worst offense against God, that He detests more than anything, it should be pride.
Not murder? Not blasphemy? Not child abuse? No, pride. The exaltation of self. The Bible teaches this abundantly.
Proverbs 6 gives us a list of sins the Lord hates, and pride comes first:
16 These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
But let’s say that list is not necessarily in order of grievousness. Scripture offers a lot more to make this case, and you don’t even need to leave the book of Proverbs:
8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate.
16:5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
16:18 Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
18:12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.
26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Those are far from the only proverbs about pride, but let’s go deeper and examine why pride is the worst of the worst. Pride was the first sin. It’s the mother of all sin. It’s the sin of the devil himself; in fact, it’s how the devil became the devil.
In Isaiah 14, the Lord speaks against the king of Babylon, but His language indicates that it’s about more than just that king:
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’”
The king of Babylon was a type of satan, whose rebellious ambition was to deify himself and usurp the throne of God. Ezekiel 28 contains a similar condemnation of the king of Tyre; verse 2 says:
“Because your heart is lifted up,
And you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,’
Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god”
But as the passage progresses, it becomes clear that this also is about more than just a human king; the Lord says he was “in Eden, the garden of God” (verse 13) and that he was “the anointed cherub” (14). Verse 17 vividly describes his pride and his expulsion to earth:
“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.”
On earth, the devil made the language of Isaiah 14:14 his temptation of humanity, starting in Eden. He allured Eve by telling her that if she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). The serpent’s seduction parallels what 1 John 2:16 says are the ways of the world: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” The devil doesn’t tempt us to worship him, but to worship ourselves. To get us to equate ourselves with God, like he did — if not in our words, then in how we live. To make ourselves the highest authority on good and evil, right and wrong, true and false, real and fake. To follow our own hearts and own ways.
That’s why pride is the ultimate abomination. Pride crowns self as Lord. It violates the first commandment. It claims for ourselves glory and authority that belong to God alone. It’s abject rebellion against the King of the universe. It’s high treason against the Most High. Pride says to Him, “No, I AM.”
So when deciding which sins to be most outraged about, start with yourself. Hate your own sins the most. Kill pride in you first. Heed this passage of 1 Peter 5, which teaches us that the way to resist being devoured by the devil is humility:
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Then, if you turn your discernment outward, fix your zealous indignation on where you see others glorify themselves or encourage you to do so. God hates that more than anything, and therefore, so should we.
See also:
