Pride and the Rejection of Wisdom
More and more lately, and I say lately meaning the last 20 years, an influx of pride has wormed its way into society in the name of human rights. It’s not just the pride movement of homosexuality, but the pride in the hearts of men and women who have this warped belief that because they can choose what happens in their life, they would rather choose evil than face the consequences of their actions. Proverbs 16 makes it clear about pride in the heart of man, it leads to destruction. Obviously there is a healthy pride and an unhealthy pride and they way we should determine the difference fall into the same parameters of how we view good and evil through You as our moral compass. Pride in my kid for getting A-honor roll is very different from being a proud womanizer bragging about conquests. But that’s where we are as a society in the modern world. It’s not surprising that satan has used what You have made for reminders and who You are and traded them for evil to really pierce the conscience. The obvious that stands out is the rainbow flag for “pride” in an abhorrent community. When You set Your bow in the heavens it was a reminder that when You look down on humanity that when You would bring the clouds upon the earth, You would see it and release Your hand from drowning us again because of our transgressions.
Then there is love. I’m certain You get tired of hearing it as much as I do that “love is love.” Our parameters for what true love is has become so distant to what love is that we no longer have a point of reference to know what love is good and what love is sinful. Through countless videos I’ve watched in study or research, several accounts of people have displayed thanking the devil and his ilk for their rewards and trinkets and people shower them with praise, laughter, and money. They consider themselves powerful because they can play pretend or a child’s game that people pour time and attention into. Modern day Rome is here where as long as the people have fat bellies and entertainment that we can ignore what is lawful, what is truth, and what separates those things apart from wickedness. Rallies are held to display whatever whim of worship is happening at the time whether it be self, sexual brokenness, or the gods we’ve given so much power to over our lives that keep us subjugated to sin through the pleasure of the eye. We are defining ourselves outside of truth because we are rebels. The most lunatic of rebels are the ones with no cause and unbeknownst to them they worship their “creator”, the great nothingness. They call on the evil powers of this world in a taunting fashion and believe themselves to be edgy or relevant because they view the masses as cattle to the trough, their sacrifice to pay for the hogwash and refuse they’ve hoisted on our eyes that sear into the conscience. Some of the worst defenders are fellow “believers.” As long as nobody is going against their view of what sin is or if they’re funny/entertaining enough it can be overlooked and even praised because perhaps there was a line or undertone that may have had a slight resemblance to what was said in Your word. No wonder You flooded the world.
The more I type and think about it, I believe one of the things we forget about You is Your incredible patience with those of whom You love. What’s scary still, when Your Son said in Matthew 19:24 "I'll say it again-it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!", we have to look and remember what nation we’re from. America is among the richest nations and the poor in the western world are far better off than most other countries poor and destitute. How many Americans really are putting their complete faith in you and turning away from their sins? How many are ignoring their comforts for You? That’s starting small. How many are speaking out against evil with the fear of being ostracized by friends and colleagues or losing their job because what You have in Your word is being offensive to the sinful? The darkness truly hates the light and we see how quickly anyone who is brought into the knowledge of their sins, the ones rallying for love become the most hateful and spiteful of all. Zero consistency. Media outlets portray the wicked over the good, the lie over the truth as long as they’re first, and commands conformity to their ideologies. All of us, Christians included, are hypocrites. The difference is when we come to You, our Lord and Master, You love us enough to tell us the truth in the only way You can, with love and consistency. In sin You still pursue us. In pain, You pursue us standing at the door knocking. You’re not beating us over the head, shouting at us and calling us every obscene name from the tongue of the deceiver because we’ve chosen the world over You. Quite the opposite. You don’t force us into a relationship with You. What many don’t realize is that the sin of pride has the same dire consequence as all the others. Steadfast refusal to turn our life to You end with the hardening of a heart. Pharaoh hardened his heart chance after chance until You said enough, and the call for repentance left him, You hardened his heart. Done. Enough.
Yet still, in Ezekiel You said, "I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.", You STILL desire for us to turn to You. Are there people so far gone that when You’ve completely removed Yourself from them that the overwhelmingly impossibility of them turning to You is about the probability of Jesus fulfilling over three hundred prophecies, yes. But as we know, that wasn’t impossible! He came and fulfilled all that had been written for our own hard hearts. While there certainly is a price for any sin and pride being one that drives us away from You the quickest, You brought Hope. I thank You for the Hope that is in me, for the faith in that Hope that I can put unwavering and complete trust in. “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.” Wonderful song, and a great reminder that I’ve put my trust in a person, not a created thing or trinket, but The Living God who intercedes on my behalf to You. Your heart and desires are what I want in my heart. May Your will be the path I forever follow without wavering, Amen.