Pride is not understood very well and one reason is that by virtue of what it is it hides itself from the eyes of its willing victims. In all ages it has been thought that man can have the favor of God if man will behave in moral ways or do certain actions. That is nothing but pride in the hearts of human beings whether it is in religious activity or not. In speaking of the sins of pride and self (egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion), A.W. Tozer said this: They “are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the church visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.” He goes on to say that “self can lie unrebuked at the very altar…It can fight for the faith of the reformers and preach eloquently the creed of salvation by grace and gain strength by its efforts. To tell the truth, it seems actually to feed upon orthodoxy and is more at home in a Bible conference than in a tavern…Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us.”
All of those darts to the heart of the orthodox is saying in plain language exactly what we need to hear whether we like it or not. Tozer would also tell us that we cannot learn from Bible study alone what God must teach our hearts. This is not to denigrate Bible study, but simply our hearts must learn from experience and the Bible must interpret that experience. There is a power of pride in the heart that no seminary class will dispel. There are no classes that a church can offer that will tear pride out of the heart. There is no one with a strong enough will to take pride out of his or her own heart. Only the Spirit operating in the soul opening the eyes of the soul to that dastardly enemy of the soul which is pride can begin the work. Only the Spirit working in the soul can begin to tear at the strong fortress of pride in the soul. Instead of being driven out by orthodoxy, pride will feed on orthodoxy and use it to hide itself. It will hide itself under the curtain of truth and it will hide itself by hanging around the champions of truth. Pride loves to be talked about and loves to be loved by those who are orthodox. Pride can even love to be spoken against as long as it has others who are orthodox to encourage him or her by saying it is part of being orthodox. Orthodoxy, then, is very dangerous when in the hands and hearts of the proud.
“In egocentric religion, we may say, man is the measure of all things-even of God. For God Himself is understood in the light of man. In theocentric religion it is God who is the ‘disposer supreme,’ the final arbiter of all things. Here, man is understood in the light of God. Expressing the difference in specifically religious language, we may say; in egocentric religion, man chooses or ‘elects’ God; in theocentric religion, God chooses or ‘elects’ man.” (Let God Be God! An Interpretation of the Theology of Martin Luther)
We can see that in orthodoxy it is the pride of man making himself the measure of all things. While man uses God, the things of God, and even the attributes of God in his theology, man is using those things for the promotion of self and comfort of self. The heart hides its own pride and self-centeredness from others and self by focusing on God. The depths of pride and self in the heart that wants to use God for the purposes of self are not measurable. Man, created for the glory and pleasure of God, and man uses God for the glory and pleasure of self. The stench that rises from hearts like that must indeed be unbearable to holy angels. Yet self-promotion is almost an art today in religious circles, though indeed it is done in the name of God with lip service paid to the Gospel.
This heart is seen in Philippians 2:21 where Paul had no one to send the Philippians to teach them the Word of God because the ones he knew about sought “their own self-interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” If Paul had no one to send these people to teach them the Word of God because the men sought their own self-interests, what would he say today about those who so interested in self-promotion? God will not give His glory to another and yet so many so-called ministers are seeking their own glory under the guise of seeking His. Proud and self-seeking men and women in the ministry can add great numbers to organizations that call themselves churches. Proud and self-seeking men and women can do many things that appear great. But they are simply doing those things so that they would appear great rather than doing them to manifest the glory of the living God. In the Old Testament the prophets were spoken against quite severely because they used God to seek themselves. It is no different today. The God that many use to seek their own glory will use them to display the glory of His justice and wrath in eternity if they do not repent and believe which is what they say with their mouths.
God Loves... Himself 
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