"The Proud Horn"

So, are fear and love the only motivating factors to good works? Unfortunately no; there is a third, and it is called 'Pride'. And I am not talking about being proud to serve the Lord; I am talking about self-serving pride. These are those that do what they do for the praises of man. In Jesus' day, many of these were the Scribes and the Pharisees; of whom He referred to as 'Vipers' and 'Ranging Wolves'. One reason they were called such by our Lord, was that there was no love in them for God, nor was there fear either; only a stone cold heart. Their only love, was that of the praises of man; and their only fear, was what others thought of them, and whether or not they appeared to be righteous. And what do you think produced a heart of stone? It was Pride. This is one thing that the Lord hates: A proud heart; which is the heart of those that think themselves better than others, and the good works which they do, are done to impress others; as if to show themselves better than others by the things that they do. At least those that do what they do out of fear, although wrongly motivated, they do so because they fear God's judgment, and wish to please God with their good works. But those that do what they do out of pride, well, they do not stand a snowballs chance where they are going. They have received their only reward already: the praises of man; as short lived as that may be, because they will have reaped eternal damnation. On the other hand, those that are doing what they do based on fear of God, well, God will be their judge. But we must be cautious, and really check our hearts, because the Bible says, 'The heart is desperately wicked; who can know it'; and if you are not careful to watch your actions, and realize what motivates you to do the things you do, you could find yourself in a wrong place; but all that will be judged by our Lord. "There is none Holy as the Lord; for there is none beside Thee: neither is there any Rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed." (1 Samuel 2:2 & 3)