Compare Psalm 36:2 with Proverbs 16:18 on pride and its dangers.

Pride’s Blindfold in Psalm 36:2

“For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.”

• The proud person manufactures a self-image so inflated that it blocks honest self-examination.

• Sin becomes invisible, not because it isn’t there, but because pride edits it out of the picture.

• Without detection, there can be no hatred of sin, no repentance, no course correction (cf. Jeremiah 17:9; Revelation 3:17).

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The Precipice in Proverbs 16:18

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

• Here pride appears as a forward scout for disaster.

• A “haughty spirit” is the internal attitude; “destruction…fall” is the inevitable external outcome (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12).

• The verse assumes a moral order in which arrogance invites collapse—God actively resists the proud (James 4:6).

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Shared Warnings

• Both verses treat pride as self-deception leading to self-destruction.

• Psalm 36:2 stresses the inward blindness; Proverbs 16:18 highlights the outward consequences.

• Together they chart a progression:

1. Self-flattery

2. Sin ignored

3. Haughtiness hardened

4. Sudden ruin

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Why Pride Is So Dangerous

• It cuts a person off from truth—first about God, then about self.

• It sterilizes conscience: the sinner “does not hate” what God hates (Psalm 97:10).

• It invites divine opposition: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

• It turns blessings into snares; success feeds arrogance, arrogance hastens collapse.

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Guardrails Against Pride

• Daily Scripture intake: mirrors the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

• Prayer of humble dependence: “Search me, O God” (Psalm 139:23-24).

• Accountable community: “Better an open rebuke than hidden love” (Proverbs 27:5-6).

• Regular gratitude: acknowledging every good gift comes from above (James 1:17).

• Service to others: pride shrinks when we wash feet (Mark 10:45; John 13:14-15).

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Christ—the Antidote

• Philippians 2:5-11 presents the ultimate contrast: though equal with God, Jesus “humbled Himself…even to death on a cross.”

• Union with Him replaces self-exaltation with God-exaltation (Galatians 2:20).

• The cross exposes pride’s folly and opens the only safe path: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)