What is the opposite of pride? As Christians, we are taught not to be proud, not to exalt ourselves above others. It is natural then that we should try to push ourselves as far from pride as we can. I’ve often believed that the opposite of pride is humility, and if you drew a line between them you should try to be as far toward humility as possible. However after spending some time in the bible the other day, I feel challenged to consider if there’s more to it. What if, in some sense, the opposite of pride is actually anxiety?

I think the first question here is, does this mean pride isn’t all bad? What’s important here are definitions. When the bible talks about pride as a sin, it refers to lifting (or exalting) oneself up above others. Egotism. However in today’s society, the word “pride” can also be used to mean a sense of achievement/accomplishment. And this is not a bad thing. God wants us to be aware of the good he enables us to do. We should be able to feel satisfaction of a job well done, so long as we recognize it is not solely our doing, rather God’s spirit enabling us.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) – For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So how does anxiety play into this? Let’s take a look at 1 Peter chapter 5 (NIV). Verses 5 and 6 are all about being humble and avoiding pride. Verse 6 says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” What jumps out to me is how the very next verse changes focus. Verse 7: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” This is the same chapter, even the same paragraph. The Apostle Peter has grouped humility and anxiety together, and I don’t think that’s by accident. (After all, when is anything in the Bible an accident? 🙂 )

When we seek to be humble, part of what we are doing is surrendering control. We recognize that achievements, accomplishments, and abilities are not by our own power. They are not things we manage on our own. We must surrender control to God to be fully enabled by God. Here’s the problem for us mortals and sinners: What happens when we don’t control a situation we’re in? We freak out. We panic. We fall victim to anxiety. Just like when we are prideful, we are focusing too much on our own ability. We’ve let go of the steering wheel, but we haven’t accepted that God’s actually grabbed ahold of it.

Remember that line I mentioned between humility and pride? I believe it’s not a straight line, but rather a parabola. Take a look at the image below.

We can’t become so fixated on being humble that we miss the purpose of it. It’s not just about lifting others up first, it’s about doing it under God’s guidance and power. Just like anything else in the Bible, it’s all God. This Easter Sunday is a reminder of that. We couldn’t save ourselves from our sin, only God could. God is in control, Hallelujah!