If pride is a bad thing, then why do grown ups say they’re proud of me?

As school reports roll in, Becky Peacock wants parents to help children see achievements as gifts from God, encouraging gratitude and humility alongside celebration

It’s the end of term! We’ve made it! No doubt your calendar has been full of various award ceremonies and celebrations of achievement over the past few weeks. It is good and right to recognise where our kids have done well. In a few weeks’ time teenagers will receive their exam results and once again as parents we want to congratulate them for their successes.

One of our go-to parenting phrases in this season is, “I’m so proud of you” or perhaps, “you should be proud of yourself”. But hang on, doesn’t the Bible condemn pride? James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So why do we encourage pride in our children if scripture tells us not to feed that feeling? Is there a way to be proud of our children and their achievements without inadvertently growing in them sinful pride?

you can acknowledge a job well done and be satisfied and content with what you, or your child has done

Celebration

In a culture of mental health crisis and crippling self-image encouraging positivity and self-worth is no bad thing. We want to raise children with healthy self-esteem, and so complementing and acknowledging their successes is a vital part of that.

God looked at all that he had made in Genesis 1 and said, “it was very good”. (Genesis 1:31) He was satisfied with his work and celebrated what he had done. But he wasn’t ……