Dealing with pride in others.

[Blake]

I have an association in my life who is very close to me, a newborn infant in Christ, who has a serious problem and is simply beyond reproof. The issue is pride.

He takes himself as being ready to be a teacher of the word, even now, when this person is still suckling on the very milk of the scriptures -- if that. This person is proud of their knowledge and givings of advice of counsel when in reality, and this is no judgment, they are often far off base. And when you try to throw a word in edge wise, it is met with a quick "uh huh" and this person moves into the next point of their Biblical topic of choice.

This person is likewise beyond constructive criticism and completely unwilling to hear you out. From the camp of this current generation who never learned how to accept correction. I believe this person's heart is in the right place but mind is so far off base that it grieves me, and it, well, honestly it bothers me. This person enjoys spending an evening out of the week with me to discuss things but so often takes so much of the floor that it leaves me deadened, I believe psychologically this person suffers from a desperate need for validation and attention.

I don't know what to do. What would you do? I have a mind to avoiding our gatherings, because truly it does nothing for my soul other than grieve it.

 

[Obadiah]

There was a person like this at a church I attended a long time ago. No one was able to correct him (not even the pastor) and it got so bad that people were leaving the church over it. Eventually, because he never got corrected (or at least never got a correction that was firm enough to be effective) he actually tried to take over the church from the pastor. That's when he finally had to be thrown out of the church.

The biggest problem wasn't so much in what he was saying, but in the way his speech was so full of arrogance and pride that no one seemed willing or able to correct. His actual errors could have been easily corrected had he been willing to listen. But after only being a Christian for a few short months he was even allowed to preach Sunday morning sermons sometimes, and I remember him screaming at the top of his lungs from the pulpit so loudly that it hurt the ears even sitting in the back row. His loud voice was one of the many things he was proud of for some reason. His behavior and the fact it was not only tolerated but even encouraged by the lack of any correction from church leadership is one of the main reasons I stopped going to that church. The pastor now realizes that he failed by not reeling this guy in early on and because of that he created a monster. Sadly most of his small congregation had already left by that point.

Sometimes when people like this ruin your worship time or your learning time, the only thing you can do that is effective for you is to go somewhere else.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Narcissism. There's not much you can do. It's in God's hands. Seriously.

Find a polite way to not be around them anymore.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

I have an association in my life who is very close to me, a newborn infant in Christ, who has a serious problem and is simply beyond reproof. The issue is pride.

He takes himself as being ready to be a teacher of the word, even now, when this person is still suckling on the very milk of the scriptures -- if that. This person is proud of their knowledge and givings of advice of counsel when in reality, and this is no judgment, they are often far off base. And when you try to throw a word in edge wise, it is met with a quick "uh huh" and this person moves into the next point of their Biblical topic of choice.

This person is likewise beyond constructive criticism and completely unwilling to hear you out. From the camp of this current generation who never learned how to accept correction. I believe this person's heart is in the right place but mind is so far off base that it grieves me, and it, well, honestly it bothers me. This person enjoys spending an evening out of the week with me to discuss things but so often takes so much of the floor that it leaves me deadened, I believe psychologically this person suffers from a desperate need for validation and attention.

I don't know what to do. What would you do? I have a mind to avoiding our gatherings, because truly it does nothing for my soul other than grieve it.

I wouldn't be too harsh with such a person.
If he truly loves Jesus, then the Spirit of God will change him as time goes on.
Although I don't think I had an ego problem, I did think that after 5 years I knew everything.
As I continued to walk with Jesus, I realized how wrong I was and was able to freely admit it.
I had to grow in my walk with Christ to reach that point.

Just 2 years ago I took a young man under my wing to disciple him but he moved away.
I had trouble with him excepting what I was saying, he was so sure of himself.
Now he has called me, telling me of changes in his life and admitting that I had given him sound advice.

But I had to just let him go, Jesus was in charge, not me.

 

[LoveOnDisplayNetwork]

Best thing you can do is continue to pray for God to show him himself and for his ears to be sensitive to God's voice so that he is fully aware when God is speaking to him and fully aware when God is not.

 

[for_his_glory]

This person sounds like he has a Pharisee spirit in him just as the Pharisees loved to be seen and heard and preach a do as I say, but don't do as I do sermon. All you can do is pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this Pharisee spirit to him so he can become humbled before the Lord. He truly needs to learn humility and humbleness and maybe you could start a conversation with him about it, but pray before you speak as the Holy Spirit will lead you into what to speak and for him to open his ears to what is being spoken to him. Ask the Holy Spirit to lock his lips and open his ears.