Chapter 2
 Exposing the Enemies Weapon

The primary weapon that Satan has employed in the conflict between flesh and spirit is most deadly. It is unyielding and effective in battles on every front. It is a smart weapon that camouflages itself, utilizes stealth, and waits for the cover of darkness. It often strikes without warning or detection and we always end up suffering dire consequences.

This weapon turns allies into enemies and friends into foes. It destroys relationships, critically injuring those we love. It kills babies in their mothers’ wombs. It turns people into false accusers, deceivers, murderers, evildoers, and deifiers of God. It can cause a leader act like a wild animal (Daniel 4:28-33).

According to Bible prophets, this weapon is so powerful that it turned an archangel into God’s archenemy and one third of the angels into demons (Ezekiel 28:17; Isaiah 14:12, Revelations 12:3-4, 9).

We must stay alert, keep on our full armor, guard ourselves, and neutralize this weapon within. What it this powerful weapon? It is the weapon of pride!

Below are some of the signs of a combatant who employs the use of the weapon of pride:

Frequently corrects others

Looks down on others

Is overly concerned with physical appearance.

Is argumentative

Is offended easily

Is quick to find fault in others

Has difficulty admitting mistakes

Refuses help, when help is needed

Is overly shy

Is defensive when corrected

Accuses others without getting all the facts

Is impatient with people

Has to be in control of everything

Complains often

Regularly interrupts others when they speak

Shares accomplishments in order to receive compliments

Talks about them self a lot

Always has to justify or defend him/herself

Blames others

Over reacts

Is often ungrateful

Is a perfectionist

Is over sensitive

Is stingy

Is envious

Gets angry easily

Is indifferent to the suffering of others

Avoids other people out of a sense of superiority

Avoids other people because of feelings of inferiority

Is pessimistic

Is in financial debt unnecessarily

Does not say often enough, “I love you,” “I need you,” “I was wrong,” or “Please forgive me.”

Is lazy

Is unforgiving

Can be very stubborn

Is sometimes sarcastic

Fears taking a strong stand for righteousness

Hurts others with their words or actions or lack thereof

Is not able to completely trust others

Is insecure because of lack of education, family history, physical appearance, or financial status

Can be selfish

Thinks more about other people than him/herself when reading this list.

Is proud that they thought more about him/herself than of other people when reading this list.

We all struggle with Pride. Pride is so deceptive and dangerous that we can easily become proud of the fact that we are not proud. It is difficult enough to remove pride from our own lives, yet we are so quick to point out the pride we see in others. Jesus asked his followers, “Why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?” (Matthew 7:3)

It is a widely known fact that Benjamin Franklin discovered the properties of lightening, but many people do not know that he also discovered the Gulf Stream, whirlwinds, and the electrostatic machine.

Among Franklin’s inventions were bifocals, the iron furnace stove, the odometer, the first flexible urinary catheter, swimming fins, and Daylight Savings Time. He was a founder of the University of Pennsylvania, the American Philosophical Society, and the Pennsylvania hospital. He received numerous awards and honorary degrees.

Franklin was the only person to have signed all four of the political documents that established what would become the United States of America. He actually helped write parts of the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution.

He founded America’s first circulating library so people could borrow books to read if they couldn’t afford to buy them. He helped shape America’s economy and used his printing skills to print paper money which aided in establishing the paper currency system. No other individual was more involved in the grounding of America as a nation.

In Philadelphia, Franklin served as Postmaster and helped set up the postal system. He started the Union Fire Company and America’s first fire insurance company. He also made eight voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, played the violin, harp, and guitar and was fluent in five languages.

Perhaps no man in history had more to be proud of than Ben Franklin. Yet, Franklin understood the nature of the beast of pride. He once said, “In reality there is perhaps none of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself. For even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it I would probably be proud of my humility.”

Dr. Martin R. Dehaan (1891-1965) was an American Bible teacher, pastor, author, and physician. He used to say, “Humility is something we should constantly pray for, yet never thank God that we have.”

Someone once said that pride is the dandelion of the soul. Its root goes deep; only a little left behind sprouts again. Its seeds lodge in the tiniest encouraging cracks. And it flourishes in good soil: The danger of pride is that it feeds on goodness. As a matter of fact, it is the only sin that feeds on goodness.

Pride is the most subtle, destructive, and unrelenting weapon our human nature uses to battle against God.

Read Chapter 3:  Preparing for Battle