One of the most comforting things a father can say to a child is "I am so proud of you!" Yet pride has two faces, a face of warm feelings associated with accomplishment or achievement and another face that beams inordinate high self esteem, dismissing every and all critical information. This is the pride addressed by Proverbs 16:17-18 'pride goes before a fall.'

There are people highly susceptible to this form of pride, those of above average intelligence who over-estimate their ability, those highly familiar with a situation, the insecure and the know it all personality, even the homeless know it all personality on the street. You see the personality trait of pride knows no class and is an enemy to true mental health.

"Pride that goes before a fall knows no class, it travels with the rich and the poor, blinds to reality, makes others feel small."

The consequences are inevitable, socially it makes others feel small and psychologically it blinds us to reality always causing disaster as we disregard critical information. For example a pilot refusing warnings from the tower to change altitude, crashing into a mountain, constant warnings to reign in personal spending causing bankruptcy, a surgeon refusing advise from a seasoned nurse causing the death of a patient, an army officer refusing a critical alert from a private causing casualties, a CEO refusing to listen to reports of qualified executives causing a company to collapse, a celebrity who lives by their own rules ignoring warnings from family and friends who loose their career, a mayor, governor, prime minister, president, parliament or congress who ignores feedback from informed reasonable constituents resulting in the demise of their administrations because of failed policies.

The Christian Bible addresses the pervasive personality disorder of narcissism which is by definition a grandiose view of one's own talents or an inordinate inflated view of one's self. Romans 12:3 records "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Narcissism although characteristic in children becomes a personality disorder when pervasive in adults.

It was this Proverbs 16:18 pride that caused all ancient empires to collapse and the principle continues forward. This pride is so subtle only a Holy reminder with the help of the Holy Spirit can show it to us and bring it to our attention before its too late.

Finally God expects not low but a stable-middle self esteem that can embrace and learn from failure rather than high self esteem afraid of failure. A stable-middle self esteem rather than high or low self esteem can appreciate the fabric of navigating a complex society with failure a normal part of the fabric factoring learning and recovery from mistakes as a normal part of life. This attitude is an indicator of true good mental health. Today pray we come to our senses to see pride as the destroyer of all ages and lets stand against it.

Chinese Version

父親可以對孩子說的最安慰的話之一就是“我為你感到驕傲！”然而，驕傲有兩張臉孔，一張是與成就或成就相關的溫暖感覺，另一張臉則洋溢著過高的自尊，忽略所有關鍵訊息。這就是箴言 16:17-18 所說的驕傲：“驕傲先於跌倒。” 箴言 16:17-18 通用英語聖經 (CEB) 17 行善的人，必遠離惡事； 保護自己道路的人保護自己的生命。 18 驕傲先於災難， 和跌倒前的傲慢。 有些人很容易受到這種形式的驕傲的影響，有些人智力高於平均水平，但高估了自己的能力，有些人對情況非常熟悉，有些人缺乏安全感，有無所不知的個性，甚至無家可歸的人在街上也有無所不知的個性。你看，驕傲的人格特質不分階級，才是真正心理健康的敵人。 “在墮落之前的驕傲不分階級，它與富人和窮人同行，對現實視而不見，讓別人感到自己很渺小。” 後果是不可避免的，從社會上來說，它讓別人感到自己很渺小，從心理上來說，它讓我們對現實視而不見，因為我們忽視了關鍵訊息，總是會造成災難。例如，飛行員拒絕塔台改變高度的警告，墜毀在山上，不斷警告控制個人開支導致破產，外科醫生拒絕經驗豐富的護士的建議，導致患者死亡，軍官拒絕緊急警報私人造成人員傷亡，首席執行官拒絕聽取合格高管的報告導致公司倒閉，按自己的規則生活的名人無視家人和朋友的警告而失去職業生涯，市長，州長，總理，總統、議會或國會，他們無視知情合理選民的反饋，導致其政府因失敗的政策而垮台。 基督教聖經談到了普遍存在的自戀人格障礙，從定義上來說，自戀是一種對自己才能的誇大看法，或者對自己的過度誇大。羅馬書 12:3 記載：「我靠著所賜給我的恩告訴你們各人，不要自視過高，只要照著神所分給各人的信心，用清醒的判斷來思想自己。」你的。自戀雖然是兒童的特徵，但在成人中普遍存在時卻變成了一種人格障礙。 正是這種箴言 16:18 的驕傲導致所有古代帝國崩潰，而這一原則卻繼續向前發展。這種驕傲如此微妙，只有在聖靈幫助下的神聖提醒才能向我們展示它，並在為時已晚之前引起我們的注意。 最後，上帝期望的不是低，而是穩定的中等自尊，能夠擁抱失敗並從失敗中學習，而不是害怕失敗的高自尊。穩定的中等自尊而不是高自尊或低自尊可以欣賞在複雜社會中航行的結構，失敗是結構的正常部分，將學習和從錯誤中恢復作為生活的正常部分。這種態度是真正良好心理健康的指標。今天，祈禱我們清醒地認識到驕傲是所有時代的毀滅者，並讓我們站起來反對它。