Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work.

Because he refused to take himself seriously and decided to take God seriously, Barth burdened neither himself nor those around him with the gloomy, heavy seriousness of ambition or pride or sin or self-righteousness. Instead, the lifting up of hands, the brightness of blessing.

Charis always demands the answer eucharistia (that is, grace always demands the answer of gratitude). Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning.

Pride first, then the crash, but humility is precursor to honor.

To be famous, in fact, one has only to kill one's landlady.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces people into thinking they can't lose.

God does not want the prideful to be the powerful ones in His Kingdom. Therefore, He hides His word so that only the hungry and the humble have access to His voice.

Those who restrict themselves to mere words limit their gift, and may unintentionally lead believers to pride by increasing knowledge without an increased awareness of God's presence and power. It's in the trenches of Christlike ministry that we learn to become totally dependent upon God. Moving in the impossible through relying on God short-circuits the development of pride.

If our study of the Bible doesn't lead us to a deeper relationship (an encounter) with God, then it simply is adding to our tendency toward spiritual pride. We increase our knowledge of the Bible to feel good about our standing with God, and to better equip us to argue with those who disagree with us.

In my own pursuit of God, I often became preoccupied with ME! It was easy to think that being constantly aware of my faults and weakness was humility. It's not! If I'm the main subject, talking incessantly about my weaknesses, I have entered into the most subtle form of pride.

The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough.

People who are in jobs are striving to gain the most they can before they die through financial means, through their flesh, the lust of their flesh and man's drive for power. But as believers we are to be the opposite. We are to be humble, not prideful. We are to think of things that are true, whatever is noble, and whatever is worthy.