Struggling with Pride, Self-Deception, and Spiritual Blindness
Pride, self-deception, and spiritual blindness are interconnected spiritual conditions described in biblical texts and theological traditions. Pride is characterized as dishonest self-promotion, contrasting with humility, which involves an honest assessment of one's strengths and weaknesses [6]. It is listed among the evils that come from within a person, defiling them [3].
Spiritual blindness is often presented as a consequence or companion of pride. In the Gospel of John, when Jesus heals a man born blind, the Pharisees, who considered themselves spiritual guides, questioned Jesus. Their pride and rage led them to ask if they were also blind [4]. Jesus indicated that those who claim to possess all religious truth are, in fact, blind, while those who acknowledge their spiritual poverty will gain true insight [7]. The Pharisees' conscious rejection of Jesus, stemming from their religious pride, established their guilt [7].
The Apostle Paul describes a state of spiritual darkness and alienation from God. In Ephesians, he speaks of those "darkened in their understanding" and "alienated from the life of God" [5]. This darkening of understanding implies a loss of spiritual perception, suggesting that before the Fall, humanity participated in divine life and light, but then revolted from this primitive revelation [5]. This alienation from God's life is a state where God lives in His people, as He was the life and light in Adam before sin entered human nature [5].
Self-deception is closely linked to both pride and spiritual blindness. It involves a failure to recognize one's own spiritual condition or sinfulness. The Geneva Bible translation of Psalm 40:12 describes sins as having taken such hold that one is "not able to look vp," indicating a state where the magnitude of one's transgressions can overwhelm and obscure clear spiritual vision [2]. Similarly, Psalm 119:78 speaks of the proud being ashamed because "with falsehood they dealt perversely with me," suggesting a deceptive and harmful way of acting rooted in pride [1].
The New Testament further illustrates this concept. The Apostle Paul, reflecting on his own life before conversion, acknowledged that he and others were "foolish, disobedient, and deceived" [9]. His persecution of Christians, despite his adherence to the letter of the law, demonstrated a heart "in a state of great estrangement from God, from justice, holiness, mercy, and compassion" [9]. This suggests a profound self-deception where outward religious observance masked an inner spiritual deficiency.
The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary notes that a demoniac healed by Jesus was both "blind and dumb" [10], which can be seen as a physical manifestation mirroring spiritual conditions. David, in the Psalms, describes his "feet were in the net, held fast and entangled, so that he could not extricate himself out of his difficulties" [8]. This imagery of being trapped and unable to escape can represent the ensnaring nature of sin and self-deception, making it difficult to perceive one's true state or find a way out.
Sources
- Psalms “Psalms 119:78 (YLT) — Ashamed are the proud, For <FI>with<Fi> falsehood they dealt perversely with me. I meditate in Thy precepts.”
- Psalms “Psalms 40:12 (Geneva1599) — For innumerable troubles haue compassed mee: my sinnes haue taken such holde vpon me, that I am not able to looke vp: yea, they are moe in nomber then the heares of mine head: therefore mine heart hath failed me.”
- Mark “covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. -- Mark 7:22”
- John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 9:40: Are we blind also?--We, the constituted, recognized guides of the people in spiritual things? pride and rage prompting the question.”
- Ephesians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ephesians 4:18: More literally, "Being darkened in their understanding," that is, their intelligence, or perceptions (compare Eph 5:8; Act 26:18; Th1 5:4-5). alienated--This and "darkened," imply that before the fall they (in the person of their first father) had been partakers of life and light: and that they had revolted from the primitive revelation (compare Eph 2:12). life of God--that life whereby God lives in His own people: as He was the life and light in Adam before the irruption of death and darkness into human nature; and as He is the life in the rege”
- Proverbs (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Proverbs 11:2: 11:2 Pride is dishonest self-promotion, whereas humility is an honest assessment of one’s strengths and weaknesses.”
- John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 9:40: 9:40-41 Are you saying we’re blind? Jesus answered that those who claim to hold all religious truth will discover that they are blind, while those who recognize their spiritual poverty will find true sight. In the story, the blind man and his family frequently confessed that they did not know, while the Pharisees repeatedly stated their confidence and remained guilty because of their religious pride. If they had confessed their ignorance and admitted their spiritual blindness, they would be guiltless. Instead, their conscious and willful rejection of Jesus establish”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 25:15: David, encouraged by the promises he had been meditating upon, here renews his addresses to God, and concludes the psalm, as he began, with professions of dependence upon God and desire towards him. I. He lays open before God the calamitous condition he was in. His feet were in the net, held fast and entangled, so that he could not extricate himself out of his difficulties, Psa 25:15. He was desolate and afflicted, Psa 25:16. It is common for those that are afflicted to be desolate; their friends desert them then, and they are themselves disposed to sit alone and”
- Titus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Titus 3:3: For we ourselves - All of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, were, before our conversion to Christ, foolish, disobedient, and deceived. There is no doubt that the apostle felt he could include himself in the above list, previously to his conversion. The manner in which he persecuted the Christians, to whose charge he could not lay one moral evil, is a sufficient proof that, though he walked according to the letter of the law, as to its ordinances and ceremonies, blameless, yet his heart was in a state of great estrangement from God, from justice, holiness, mercy, and compa”
- Luke (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Luke 11:14: BLIND AND DUMB DEMONIAC HEALED--CHARGE OF BEING IN LEAGUE WITH HELL, AND REPLY--DEMAND OF A SIGN, AND REPLY. (Luke 11:14-36) dumb--blind also (Mat 12:22).”