On June 24th, 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte commanded one of the most magnificent armies in history. With most of Europe lying at his feet, England was one of the only major nations that had not submitted to his imperial will. Alexander II, Czar of Russia, had been a potential father-in-law to Napoleon, but the Czar had proven to be too independent of mind. The Czar had not supported the Emperor’s plans to boycott England. Now Napoleon was ready to reduce Russia into submission so he could finally deal with England. Napoleon summoned his troops from across Europe until his Grand Army swelled to 650,000 soldiers. As they marched eastward, they carried 950 guns and 35,000 wagons of supplies. It took eight days for the entire army to pass by a single spot.
Napoleon had seemed invincible in battle, and he believed that the sheer size of his force would cow the Russians into submission. If not, a decisive battle would force the Czar’s hand. Napoleon was so confident of victory that he did not supply his soldiers with winter gear. He believed the war would be over long before the first snow fell.
Initially, everything seemed to be going according to plan. The Russian army, counting only 200,000 men, continually withdrew and surrendered territory. Napoleon eventually reached Moscow, though much of it had been burned and was uninhabitable. Then disaster ensued. Winter struck with a vengeance. The Russian army attacked and plagued the fringes of the French army. Facing an enormous catastrophe, Napoleon raced back to Paris to prevent a coup from overthrowing him. Only a small remnant of the Grand Army ever returned home. Allies soon began turning on him and the beginning of Napoleon’s end commenced.
No one wants to follow a timid leader. But there’s a fine line between confidence and pride. Pride has led to many leaders’ tragic downfall. Scripture warns, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). Pride may have ruined more leaders than any other sin has. In fact, when my father and I were writing our book Spiritual Leadership (aff), we addressed ten of the most dangerous pitfalls for leaders. We listed pride as #1. Pride is dangerous for several reasons.
1. Pride leads us to value ourselves too much. Pride causes us to lose proper perspective. It tempts us to overestimate our contribution to our organization’s success. We view our achievements as the product of our own efforts rather than the result of our team’s combined contribution. Because we assume we are the reason for our success, we also presume we are entitled to generous rewards. Lee Iacocca parachuted in to save Chrysler when the company was facing a crisis. He made sweeping changes and became a corporate superstar. But then his success began to go to his head. He wrote books about his achievements and went on the speaking circuit. He even considered running for the US presidency. The more he promoted himself, the worse his company performed. By the time he left Chrysler, many of his gains were lost and the carmaker was acquired by another company. When we think too highly of ourselves, we are always in danger of overreaching and undoing our previous accomplishments.
2. Pride causes us to value others too little. Even superstars cannot succeed without other people’s help. Some say that Napoleon’s ultimate failure was that he neglected to raise up other leaders to work with him. Everything depended on him. Yet even a great general such as Napoleon could not overcome the combined efforts of his enemies. The Battle of Waterloo may well have been lost because Napoleon did not know how to work with others.
Prideful leaders fail to praise others’ success. Such leaders tend to take credit for achievements while blaming others for failure. It can be demoralizing to realize that your efforts will simply be consumed by the leader’s ego.
3. Pride causes people to have blind spots. Pride is insidious because it blinds people to
their vulnerabilities. Napoleon assumed he could master the situation in Russia before winter, so he failed to make adequate preparations. His oversight cost hundreds of thousands of soldiers their lives. When leaders struggle, the obvious solution is to seek help. But pride convinces people that asking for help is a waste of time.
I remember hearing of a young church planter who struggled as a leader and flailed about seeking answers for his mounting problems. He was surrounded by pastors from his denomination who ministered in the same city. Each of those pastors would gladly have helped him. But the church planter refused to reach out to them. Pride convinced him that admitting he needed help would be too embarrassing. Better to crash and burn than to humble himself and seek wisdom.
Pride seduces people into thinking they are less vulnerable than other people are. This mistaken assumption often becomes evident when a leader experiences moral failure. Various other leaders come alongside to offer counsel or accountability or even to reprimand the fallen leader. Yet many of those providing council end up committing similar transgressions themselves. How could they see the destruction a particular behavior caused someone and assume they are immune to similar consequences? Pride convinces people, “That would never happen to me.” It also deludes leaders into assuming that they are above the laws or that, because of their contribution and importance to their organization, they are entitled to perks that others are not. Pride is a seditious liar that leads people to justify all manner of evil.
Pride also makes people defensive and unwilling to heed advice. In many cases, leaders fail despite having solid, helpful counsel available to them. The problem is that pride convinces them they don’t need advice. It causes leaders to view wise counsel as disrespectful and demeaning. It motivates them to give advice but not receive it. How tragic to have all the answers available to you and yet reject them because they came from someone else!
4. Pride harms your relationship with God. Scripture warns that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Make no mistake: God hates pride, and He has a multiplicity of ways of bringing proud people low. You cannot expect God to answer your prayers when your heart is filled with pride, and you will not receive God’s blessing when pride permeates your character. Pride negates whatever good work you may be doing.
How do you protect yourself so pride doesn’t creep into your heart and harm you and your organization? There are several practical steps you can take.
1. Humble yourself. Scripture urges, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). You don’t have to stay the way you are! You may have been a braggart in the past. You may have loved the limelight. But you can humble yourself. Perhaps you intentionally guard your mouth so you don’t brag about your accomplishments. It can be hard to praise others when no one is singling you out for commendation, but true humility takes genuine delight in other people’s success. Proverbs sagely advises, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” (Prov. 27:2). If you have to blow your own horn, perhaps your accomplishments aren’t as spectacular as you imagined!
2. Keep your focus on God. If you look at people long enough, you can eventually find someone who makes you look good. But when you keep your focus riveted on your Creator, there is no room for vanity. Compared to Him, you look frail and wicked. When someone frequently boasts, they are clearly using the wrong measuring stick!
3. Surround yourself with people who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth. Vain individuals tend to seek out people who constantly sing their praises. Unflattering truths annoy proud people. But pride is such a lethal enemy that wise people surround themselves with those who faithfully tell them the truth and confront pride whenever they see it. Spouses can be helpful in this regard! So can friends. When I was advancing in my career, I met with three men regularly. We shared our struggles and goals. We identified growth areas and invited the others to hold us accountable. Those friends were not timid about calling me out if I began sounding too grandiose or self-absorbed! Such friends sometimes step on your toes, but they can also keep your feet firmly planted on the ground.
Pride is an ugly trait, and it is entirely unbecoming of a Christian. It glorifies self rather than God. It turns people away from you rather than toward you. It invites God’s discipline. It makes you vulnerable. Don’t treat it lightly, and don’t make excuses for it. Rather, aggressively root out pride wherever you find it. Refuse to boast about your achievements. Intentionally celebrate other people’s success. In conversation, strive to talk more about the other person than about yourself. Uprooting pride isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. As Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5).
*A simple yet profound book on this subject is Andrew Murray’s Humility (aff).
