Benefits of Arrogance
This is actually a little strange.
If people are not arrogant, and are God-fearing (or society-fearing or whatever to call the same thing), then the progress of society will take place very slowly, since people will conform to current ways and not "act smart", and do their own way.
This is kind of a paradox - but may have a grain of truth.
It might actually require some brazenness and insolence, in order to come up with stark new ideas, whereas convention normally prevents outright ingenuity.
But as we know, conformance, while subduing your imagination, helps you in many other ways, like being able to identity and relate with other people better (two God-fearing (or society-fearing) people are likely to feel comfortable with each other, and most of the people in the world are conforming kind; whereas two arrogant people may likely not feel comfortable with each other, and if everybody in the world was arrogant, it will lead to chaos), avoid pitfalls of trying out very new ways, etc. In fact, it is kind of courteous to be conforming, since by that you say, "Dont worry, I will behave in a very predictable manner. I wont outrightly do something very new."
Actually, this thought reminds me of Howard Roark in "FountainHead" and its author Ayn Rand's objectivism.