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“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

What Keeps Us From Giving God All Our Heart?

Most of us have probably read those verses many times. But stop at one little word: All. Why did God say all thine heart? Why not simply say, "Trust in the LORD"? Maybe that little word tells us something about one of the greatest struggles in the human heart.

Before going any further, don't take my answer for it. Think about the question yourself. What keeps us from completely trusting God? Fear? Certainly. Doubt? Sometimes. Wanting control? Absolutely. Wanting our own way? There's another one. Thinking we know what's best for ourselves?

Underneath many of those things we find something the Bible repeatedly warns us about: pride.

Pride doesn't always walk around announcing itself. Sometimes pride sounds perfectly reasonable: I know what I'm doing. I can handle this myself. I don't need anybody telling me what to do. I know I was wrong, but so was he. I'm not apologizing first. God understands why this situation is different. And sometimes pride simply says: I want my way.

The Heart Can Lie to Us

Jeremiah gives us an uncomfortable warning:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" – Jeremiah 17:9 KJV

If my heart can deceive me, then I can have something wrong inside me and convince myself that I'm fine. I can recognize pride in somebody else while completely overlooking my own. I can justify something God calls wrong. I can rename my stubbornness "standing my ground." I can call my desire for control "being responsible." I can call refusing correction "knowing what I believe." I can even become proud of how humble I think I am.

That's quite a weed.

Pride Is Like a Stubborn Weed

Anybody who has worked in a garden knows that cutting the top off a weed doesn't necessarily kill it. Some weeds spread by roots or rhizomes so stubbornly that leaving even a small living piece in the soil can allow them to return.

Our spiritual lives can look much the same. We concentrate on what everybody can see above the ground: anger, jealousy, greed, unforgiveness, the need to control everything, refusing to admit we're wrong, or looking down on somebody else. We cut one off and congratulate ourselves.

But what if we're only cutting weeds above ground while leaving the root underneath? What if pride is feeding several of them?

That doesn't mean pride is the only cause of every sin. Scripture also speaks about lust, unbelief, fear, greed and other desires. But pride runs remarkably deep because pride continually puts self where God belongs: my judgment, my desires, my way, my strength, my righteousness, my understanding.

And Proverbs tells us: "lean not unto thine own understanding." That's almost a direct challenge to pride.

God Was Dealing With Pride in the Wilderness

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He didn't immediately transport them into the Promised Land. There was a journey. Years later Moses explained part of its purpose:

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart…" – Deuteronomy 8:2 KJV

Notice two things: "to humble thee" and "to know what was in thine heart." God was dealing with the heart.

Later in the same chapter, God warns Israel about reaching prosperity and saying: "My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth." – Deuteronomy 8:17 KJV

There it is: pride. God could deliver them from Egypt. He could divide the Red Sea. He could feed them in the wilderness. But Israel still had to learn who they were trusting. And so do we.

The First Step Is Admitting There's a Problem

What's the first step toward fixing almost any problem? Acknowledging that the problem exists.

That's where Psalm 51 becomes so important. After David's terrible sin, he didn't begin by explaining why he did it or blaming somebody else. He said:

"For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me." – Psalm 51:3 KJV

That's something pride hates saying: I was wrong.

David continues: "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts…" – Psalm 51:6 KJV. Not merely looking righteous. Truth inside.

Then David asks: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." – Psalm 51:7 KJV

And finally: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." – Psalm 51:10 KJV

Notice the order. David acknowledges his sin. Then he asks God for cleansing. That matters.

If We Could Fix Ourselves, Why Would We Need a Savior?

There's another form pride can take: "I'll fix myself."

But if we could cleanse our own hearts, overcome sin completely through our own strength and make ourselves right with God, why would we need Jesus Christ?

The Law can show us what's wrong: "…for by the law is the knowledge of sin." – Romans 3:20 KJV

Paul understood the frustration of knowing something was wrong and still struggling with it: "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." – Romans 7:19 KJV

Eventually Paul cries: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" – Romans 7:24 KJV

Notice the question isn't, "What rule am I missing?" It's: "WHO shall deliver me?" And the next verse points to Jesus Christ. The Law can expose the weed. It cannot become our Savior.

So How Do We Deal With Pride?

We shouldn't identify a problem this serious and then leave somebody wondering what to do about it. And there probably isn't a one-size-fits-all checklist, because pride doesn't show itself exactly the same way in everybody.

For one person, pride may be refusing correction. For another, it may be refusing to apologize. For another, it may be money, accomplishments or education. For somebody else, it may be needing control. It can even appear in religion when we begin comparing our righteousness with somebody else's.

So perhaps our first prayer should be David's:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." – Psalm 139:23-24 KJV

Search me. Ask God to expose what your deceitful heart may be hiding from you.

Try me. Pay attention when circumstances expose reactions you don't particularly like seeing in yourself.

Acknowledge it. When God shows you something, don't rename it, excuse it or compare yourself with somebody worse. Psalm 51 says, "I acknowledge my transgressions."

Confess it. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." – 1 John 1:9 KJV

Surrender it. This may be the difficult part. Jesus said: "…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." – Matthew 16:24 KJV

God may show one person something completely different from what He shows another. The question becomes: When He shows me my piece of that stubborn root, am I willing to let go of it?

Depend upon Christ. We're not defeating pride so that someday we can proudly announce, "Look what I accomplished without God." That would be quite a trick. We need the Savior precisely because there are things in us we cannot repair ourselves.

And then walk. Trusting God doesn't mean doing nothing. At the Red Sea, God made the path. Israel still had to walk through it. When God directs our path, faith follows.

Don't Leave a Piece of the Root

Now return to our weed. Suppose you pull almost all of it: ninety percent, ninety-nine percent. But there's a tiny piece you're determined to leave in the ground.

Spiritually, that little piece might sound like: I'll forgive everybody except him. I'll follow God except in my finances. I'll obey Him unless it interferes with what I want. I'll admit I'm wrong – but not to her. God can have everything except this.

Then read Proverbs again: "Trust in the LORD with ALL thine heart…"

Not 50%. Not 90%. Not even 99%. All.

Pride is the stubborn root that keeps saying: "This little piece still belongs to me." Faith says: "God, it's Yours too."

Why Would God Care So Much?

Here's where we can misunderstand the entire subject. God isn't exposing our pride because He enjoys pointing out everything wrong with us.

Remember what Moses said about the wilderness: "…that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end." – Deuteronomy 8:16 KJV

"To do thee good." That sounds very different.

The Bible is ultimately an extraordinary story of God's love for mankind. God created man for relationship with Him. Sin damaged that relationship. And God loved mankind enough to provide what mankind could never provide for itself.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…" – John 3:16 KJV

God isn't trying to take something wonderful away from us when He deals with our pride. He's dealing with something that stands between us and complete trust in Him.

One Last Question

Don't finish this article by examining somebody else's heart. That would be remarkably easy – and perhaps remarkably prideful.

Examine your own. And don't simply ask: "Do I have pride?" We probably already know that answer.

Ask: "God, where is pride keeping me from giving You all my heart?" Then be willing to listen.

Because that stubborn weed may not look the same in your life as it does in mine. And when God shows you the root, don't merely cut off what everybody else can see.

Acknowledge it. Confess it. Surrender it. Ask Him to cleanse it. And follow where He leads.

Then return once more to where we started:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." – Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

Maybe we've read those words a hundred times. The question isn't whether we know them. The question is:

Does He have all of my heart?

Stay rooted in faith, my friend.

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