Word-Filled Wednesday ~#130~ Pride vs Humility

"Pride goes before destruction,

a haughty spirit before a fall."

~Proverbs 16:18

"But I am the LORD your God,

Who brought you out of Egypt.

You shall acknowledge no God but Me,

no Savior except Me.

I cared for you in the desert, 

in the land of burning heat.

When I fed them, they were satisfied;

when they were satisfied, they

became proud;

then they forgot Me."

~Hosea 13:4-6 

"My people are destroyed from lack

of knowledge . . . 

because you have rejected 

knowledge . . . 

because your have ignored the law of

your God . . . 

they exchanged their Glory for

something disgraceful."

 ~selected portions of 

Hosea 3:6-7

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . . always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." ~2 Timothy 3:1-4, 7

What a time of history we are living in. There have been times over the last 5 years that I have almost been overwhelmed with grief for my country and for several years, I've watched the advances of sin in the lives of dear friends and loved ones. What an age of deception and sin we live in! But . . . at the same time, we are blessed, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, to be lights in the darkness. And as the rising sin of these last days increases, so increases our light shining brightly like stars in the darkness. (Phil. 2:15)

A monstrous sin that I see over-taking so many is pride. And NONE OF US, no not one, are exempt from it. There's always something that we do a little better than someone else, something that we learn just a little quicker then the next person, a talent that we have that someone else doesn't. Even the most precious, godly person you and I know has some little pang of pride about something.

Pride is the "original sin." Lucifer/Satan was Heaven's worship leader and was incredibly beautiful. But in his pride, he thought he would be a better god than GOD. (Isaiah 14:12-15) God then cast him down to earth and time was never the same. Do you remember this bit of history? What did Satan, the serpent, tempt Eve with? A piece of fruit? No . . . it was pride. He tempted her with the prick to her pride to "be like God." (Genesis 3:4) Oh . . . yesssss, you can almost hear his hisssssss as his words must have dripped with the honey of prideful liessssssss. 

The farther our world gets away from the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ, the more corrupted by pride people get. The basis, the beginning, of almost all sin is pride and it seems that no one has the humility to hear ~ and possibly accept ~ that they are going down the wide path and need to be redirected onto the narrow way (Matt. 7:13). It seems that no one understands the futility, the consequences and the danger of pride. 

Now, I'm NOT talking about taking personal pride in something you have done well. God gives us each talents and abilities to use for HIS glory ~ He expects us to use them and use them well and not waste our gifts ~ it's our attitude that matters. Are you humble and even somewhat amazed at your own gifts and talents ~ that's one type of "pride" ~ or are you so convinced that YOU are the all-in-all that you are unteachable? "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else." (Galations 6:3-4)

Pride will lead to a great, great fall. Whether a person or a nation. It has always been that way. YOU have something ~ a talent, a job, a family, a church, a deep faith, a home, an ability, a social status, an education, certain knowledge ~ something ~ that someone wants. Have a humble pride in having this gift from God, but do not let it go to your head in such a way that you will "have a great fall."

If you see someone you love heading that way, gently remind them Whose they are and lead them to repentance. If you see this in your own life, remind yourself Whose YOU are and repent. We serve such a wonderful God Who forgives and restores.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><