Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”
Our Bible verse for today: “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.” Proverbs 18:12 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Pride comes before a fall.”
Pride comes before a fall. It’s a truth we see played out over and over again in life every day. And the more pride there is, the greater the fall. The reason this is true is because pride blinds us. It prevents us from seeing ourselves and our situations as they truly are.
“The Life Recovery Bible” is a study Bible specifically written for men and women struggling with addictions. Excessive pride, denial, and a lack of humility are key character traits which often result in people succumbing to addictive behaviors. In the study notes that go with Proverbs 18:12 the editors offered this insight:
“When we are filled with pride, we cannot see our weaknesses. We build walls of denial that are almost impregnable. If we cannot admit our faults, they will never be corrected, and we will suffer the consequences. On the other hand, humility opens the door for correction. When we honestly evaluate our life, we can see our weaknesses and take steps to improve and correct them. This may be painful now, but it will be much more bearable than the pain of a life destroyed by a dependency and a compulsion.”
Pride itself is an addictive and self-perpetuating behavior. The more we allow pride to rule over us, the harder our heart gets and the less receptive we become to the possibility that there could be anything wrong that needs correction. The Pharaoh of Egypt in the book of Exodus is a classic example. He was prideful and unreceptive to the message of correction Moses attempted to deliver to him. In Exodus 7:22 we read that “Pharaoh’s heart became hard.” That was the starting point for prideful and arrogant stubbornness that would lead the Pharaoh and his nation to catastrophic consequences.
As the story unfolds, and Moses continued to attempt to get through to Pharaoh, we read of Pharaoh’s increasing stubbornness. Six times we read that Pharaoh dug in his heals and purposely hardened his own heart even more. No matter how bad the consequences got, he refused to give in. Finally, in Exodus 9:12, after Pharaoh had stubbornly rebuffed Moses six times, we read that “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” In other words, God finally gave Pharaoh over to the consequences of his own prideful and stubborn heart. And that of course, led straight to his downfall.
Pride comes before a fall. The more pride there is and the longer we cling to it, the greater the fall we’re setting ourselves up for. I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal to you any prideful attitudes that you need to repent of.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 