WHEN PRIDE ABATES
My wife just loves to
tell about her and her sibling’s names, Tom and Jerry and Sherry and Arie. It
is a very long story that basically plays on the rhyme in their names. She
(Arie) generally ends with a cute twist in which she says, “But you can call me
Jane.” She is proud of her siblings as well as the way her parents named them.
And this kind of pride is certainly not wrong.
Being proud of what parents have done or the successes of our children
is normal.
However, we have
reached a level of pride in our society which I believe to be unprecedented. We
take pride in the most frivolous successes. From childhood we are told to have
pride in just about everything. We are encouraged to take pride in this
accomplishment or in that one; to have pride in the most minor details of life.
We are told that pride is good and something to be sought after. Pride used to
be harder to achieve in lower levels of sports, and other competitive programs,
for those not actually excelling. So, in order to lift the pride of the more
mediocre we began to award ‘participation’ ribbons and trophies, etc., to boost
their pride. Yet in Proverbs 16:18 we read, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Now we are expected
to take pride in our skin color (if we are the right color). Yet, there is
virtually no one who has chosen their skin color. How is it that we take pride
in something we have absolutely no ability to control? It is simply issued at
birth. We are told to be proud of our sex although it too is a given at birth
(unless one corrupts what God has given because of personal psychological
issues). We take pride in every feat of man provided it allows us to be exalted
for even a moment. Acquiring knowledge is also a source of pride even though it
is most often the result of simply reading what others have written. The
acquisition of knowledge is nothing more than finally being able to understand
a miniscule portion of what God in His wisdom was able to create from nothing.
Yet when we are finally able to grasp the smallest portion of His creative
powers we become proud of our mental prowess. Proud of what? Proud that we
finally understood…something?
It is interesting to
me that men will uncover (in music, science, humanities, etc.) some slight
portion of truth and then puff their chest like a banty rooster. I might view
this differently if men were simply excited about having finally understood
something of God’s creative genius. But that is not it. Instead (for the most
part) uncovering a small detail of what God has done puffs up the pride of man
to such an extent that they then turn that same discovery into proof that God
does not exist or that they somehow have discovered the machinations of the
cosmos. The Apostle Paul said it best almost 2000 years ago:
Romans 1:19 “Because that
which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. (v.20) For the
invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (v.21) because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. (v.22) Professing themselves to be wise
(prideful), they became fools….”
Men’s foolish pride
separates them from God because they become “vain in their imaginations.” Their
own pride blinds them. What will their colleagues think if they don’t place
science, academia or philosophy above God? Or, what if they express openly that
their own pride is misplaced and that God is the source of all wisdom and
knowledge? And what if a man were to admit that God is all in all. What then? Then,
their friends might laugh them to scorn.
Salvation, a right
relationship with God, requires humble faith (the absence of pride). In Psalm
10:4 David writes, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not
seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” So,
pride is the antithesis of faith.
In Luke 16 a rich man
who was once filled with pride is in view. He has died but immediately opened
his eyes in eternal judgment. In this scene an alarming truth is evident…he no
longer has pride. Realizing there is no hope for himself he begs for help in reaching
his family before it is too late. In eternal damnation he is finally humbled,
but too late.
Pride will separate
men from God today and in eternity. There will be no pride at the Judgment
Seat. No matter his accomplishment, his wealth or his great wisdom man will humble
himself and agree with God in the final judgement when pride abates.
Don’t wait for the
final judgement. Surrender your pride today. Call on Jesus Christ in faith
believing, with a humble heart, before it is too late.
How to be born again: http://christxalted.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-to-be-born-again.html
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