Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV)
“When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.“
Lessons from Proverbs 11:2
1. The Consequence of Pride
When we are arrogant, people look for us to fall. They are waiting for it. And they will be excited by our failure. The inevitable result of pride is that we tumble from the tower of pride we created. It comes as surely as night follows day.
It may not come today or tomorrow, but eventually, we will reap the results of our pride. And when we elevate ourselves through pride, we have nowhere to go but down. This is why the Proverb is a universal truth – because when we elevate ourselves, there is only one direction to go from there – down.
2. The Path to Wisdom
The gateway to wisdom is humility. Through humility, we recognize that we don’t know anything and have much to learn. Without that humility, we prevent learning from ever taking place. And if we never learn, we ensure that failure is coming soon.
If we think we know something, we prevent learning. You cannot teach the person who thinks they already know everything. Pride gets in the way of knowledge and understanding.
3. Humility is a Virtue
This passage shows that humility is a powerful, commendable character trait. It makes a person look better at his surroundings. The Proverb states that humility leads to wisdom. Humility is the bedrock of all skill acquisition.
4. Self-Reflection
If humility leads to wisdom, we need to self-reflect and ensure we are humble. Arrogance prevents the full actualization of who we are.
We cannot fix character flaws if we are not aware of them.
5. The Threat of Shame
Unchecked pride leads to shame. The Bible contains threats of punishment for evil behavior. Pride is no exception. There are consequences to behavior that God labels as sin. Even practical consequences in the physical world.
There is nothing wrong with shame. Worldly people are scared of shame. They will accuse you of fat shaming or something along those lines. But the reality is that shame is an emotion that causes us to take action. We want to avoid negative emotions. So if we want to avoid the emotion of shame, we simply avoid the pride that creates the shame.
6. Wisdom’s Connection to Humility
There is an intrinsic link between wisdom and a humble disposition. There is no way around this. Again, arrogance prevents learning. Pride prevents people from learning anything. The mind refuses to learn what it thinks it already knows. And the arrogant person thinks he knows everything.
7. Learning from Mistakes
If you find yourself making a mistake because of pride or because pride prevented you from learning what you needed to learn, you have the opportunity to self-correct. you can learn the lesson you should have learned and press on without the pride to weigh you down. But it will take a serious mistake to break up the monopoly that pride has on the learning mind.
8. Creating Humility
We need to make intentional efforts to cultivate and maintain a humble mindset. Like every positive character trait, we have to invest concentrated effort into developing that trait. It will not develop itself. We have to build it and then maintain it over time. It will not sustain itself.
9. Continual Pursuit of Wisdom
This passage encourages a lifelong commitment to seeking and applying wisdom through humility. Without continually developing the individual level of humility, we can never hope to improve ourselves or develop any appreciable level of wisdom.
