The Power of Pride?
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Gen. 3:6)
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Gen. 3:9-10)
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. (Gen. 4:6-8)
The scripture opens with the glory of God
=s creation and our tendency to focus on that aspect of the story is is well justified; we should stand in awe at the power and majesty of our Creator. Nevertheless, the story has been preserved for our instruction and we need to seriously consider the events recorded so that we might make a proper application in our own lives. So, the passages above will be a beginning point in making such an application.Each of the passages has a common element. It is common not only here, but throughout scripture and in our daily experience. That element is often masked by things like we see here (i.e. rationalization, fear, jealousy), but the ugly beast behind the mask is pride and as human beings we are consumed with it: often in ways that we can
=t see.Ask any Christian group about God
=s view of human pride and you are likely to hear an essentially biblical response that reflects God=s disdain for mankind=s self-exaltation. At the same time, a close inspection of the lives of many would readily demonstrate the propensity of most of us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.It is, I suppose, the human condition to be infected with this venom of the old creation but hopefully it is one that we are striving to overcome. I want to speak to dealing with pride in our own lives, but first let
=s briefly remind ourselves of what scripture has to say on this subject.Often, this topic is addressed without the use of a word meaning pride. For example, Genesis 11:4 is a graphic portrayal of the arrogance of the people at Bable,
AAnd they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.@It is interesting that this major event in the OT involves the raising up of tower. The Hebrew word most often translated pride (in its various forms) is gawon (gaw-ohn)meaning to mount up, or swell. The first place this word appears in scripture is Exodus 15:7 after God has defeated Pharoah and his army at the Red Sea,
AAnd in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble@Note the comparison in this passage, God in his
Aexcellency@(mounting up/pride) overthrew those who Arose up@ (pride/arrogance) against Him. The enemies of God=s people quickly got the word that He was to be feared. At the same time, God made it clear that His people were to humble themselves before Him They were reminded again and again and yet we know most of them simply ignored His instruction, pleading, and warning.The wisdom given to Solomon instructed them that
AThe fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way....@ (Proverbs 8:13) A proper reverence for Almighty God is the antidote for the poison of pride. No one who has even an infantile understanding His sovereignty believes that His will and purposes can be ignored or resisted with impunity.Proverbs 16:18-19 is familiar to most students of scripture and is a common saying in the secular world as well,
APride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.@ In other words, don=t be a part of the crowd who thinks they are their own masters. They may engage in enterprises which enrich themselves at the expense of others, but our welfare is better served by living lives of quiet humility before God.Human pride brings destruction. God will not abide arrogance in people forever. He will deal with it in terms of His justice and judgment are not something anyone with wisdom wishes to challenge. God warned Israel through the prophet saying,
AAnd I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.@ (Isaiah 13:11) Of that coming judgment, God said AAnd the pride of man will be humbled, And the loftiness of men will be abased, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.@ (Isaiah 2:17)Yet, in arrogance, they refused God as their King and desired worldly acclaim. He made it clear that they could not have their way and retain His blessing. We need to keep this principle of scripture as a point of regular meditation.
The scripture is replete with examples of pride leading to the discipline or judgment of God but an examination of this subject would be unbalanced if it ignored the other side of the equation. Though pride dominates the human condition, we do have examples of humility.
In 2 Chron 17:5, we read of the faithfulness of Jehoshaphat who, like his father David sought to be obedient in all things.Verse five relates the blessing that accrued to him,
ASo the LORD established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. And he took great pride in the ways of the LORD and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.@ (vss. 5-6)He was one of the few good kings in the history of Israel and it is clear both he and the people were blessed because his pride was
Ain the ways of the LORD@. He caused the Law to again be circulated among the people and their enemies left them in peace for fear God would come to their aid.In 2 Chronicles, we also encounter Hezekiah:
AAnd thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right, and true before the LORD his God. And every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered. (2 Chron 31:20 )When Sennacherib threatened, Hezekiah encouraged the people saying, "Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude which is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
@ (2 Chron. 32:7-8).Because of the obedience of this one man, scripture records,
AHowever, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.@ (2 Chron 32:26)We could go on and on with examples of Godly men and women who were willing to exalt the Lord God rather than themselves and in doing so brought blessing to themselves and those around them. Of course, as Philippians 2 makes clear, Christ is the ultimate example submission to the will and purposes of the Father.
As we consider the time in which we live, we would do well to reflect on our situation to be sure that we are indeed on the Lord
=s side.It is hard to drive down the road today without seeing bumper stickers and other signs boasting of national pride. Speeches flood the media with nationalistic pride and, sadly, many pulpits across the land reinforce the message in the minds of believers. Pride goes before destruction.
Another Hebrew word translated pride is zadown (zaw-done') meaning arrogance, presumption, and pride. One doesn
=t have to look hard to see that our country is full of such, especially in many Christian circles and government offices. Again and again the story is repeated, AWe=re the best! We=re righteous! Our cause is just!@ and so on. Rarely if ever are such statements tied to any biblical or lawful principles. They are almost exclusively used as little more than propaganda to keep the masses in lockstep with the government agenda.It is a telling sign that in our time those who are faithful to their duty by attempting to correct the abuses of government leaders are seen as unpatriotic by the masses. Christians especially should know better.
Let
=s get one thing perfectly clear, when government goes wrong it is by the strong arm of its military and other Apeacekeeping@ forces that its abuses are possible. This happens because the people enforcing government edicts forget they possess the power and have the duty to protect the people, not the government. When the government (or any segment of it) errs, it is the sworn duty of every representative of the people to not only refuse to enforce its error, but to oppose that error and correct it, with force if need be.We are at the place in our history where many young people are enticed into military service by perks our forefathers would have shunned. They take an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, yet virtually all are derelict in duty because they continue to obey unconstitutional orders.
If one of the rare breed, like Michael New, actually arises to faithfully discharge his duty, he is persecuted by the government at the sufferance of the very people whose liberty he defends by his actions. Most parents would be embarrassed if their child took such a principle stand in the present nationalistic fervor.
We are on the threshold of repeating Germany
=s mistake. One aspect of that horror was the parents who took great pride as their children went off to Hitler=s youth camps to be indoctrinated in the state rhetoric. Children who obeyed every edict with unflinching resolve are rewarded and promoted. Those whose consciences give them pause are whipped into line or eliminated so that only the most subservient remain. This is the nature of a culture in peril.We don
=t have to wonder where such a mindset will take us. The destination is written large in history, if we care to read or remember it. Either we will squelch the rising tide of nationalistic pride, or we will be crushed under the judgment it brings..
That title doesn
=t leave much to the imagination but it is a web site you ought to visit. Since before the 2000 election cycle, I=ve been encouraging you to pay attention to George Bush and what he does. What he says is bad enough, but what he does is nothing short of un-American and un-Christian.The site above is a good collection of information to which Christians should pay special attention. I
=ve shared a number of concerns with you here but this site goes much deeper. None of us ever knows for sure if another person is a Christian, but the fruit seen in the life of George W. Bush provides significant evidence of a life that is far worse than simply unChristian.
Wal-Mart Finds A New Low
For some time now I=ve refused to shop at Wal-Mart. Their poor record on human rights and their willingness to profit from slave labor are more than enough to cost them my business. It is a matter of personal conviction to me and I won=t attempt to be the conscience of anyone else, nevertheless it is puzzling to me how Christians can support such an organization: especially to the point of buying slave products from them. Now there may be hope that at least some Christians will be less enthusiastic about lining the pockets of the $30 billion/month business.
Wal-Mart never misses an opportunity to capitalize on its involvement with and support of community projects, but company officials recently decided to let one pass and leave it up to the beneficiary to report the alliance.
The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce recently announced a partnership with Wal-Mart which will make a special effort promote the products of homosexual business owners in Wal-Mart stores.
The move ups the ante significantly as customer purchases will be a pipeline to put more money into the homosexual lobby. This concession to diversity in the workplace will even give Wal-Mart a place at the table in the NGLCC.
So, the next time you check out at the local superstore, ask yourself if supporting slave traders and the homosexual culture is really worth it. For my part, the moral losses far outweigh any economic benefit.
Sukkoth
With the arrival of fall, our minds turn to the third festal season of Israel: the feast of trumpets, the day of atonement, and the feast of tabernacles or booths. Collectively, the season is known by the high point of the celebration Sukkoth or the feast of booths.
Because water was a major focus of the celebration it is also know as the Festival of Living Water. The term Alatter rains= comes to mind in this context. The spring rains were needed to raise and mature the crops, but in the arid climate, the fall rains were essential to prepare the ground for the fallow season. If the latter rains failed, poor crops and famine were the result.
It is no surprise that Christ would capitalize on this physical reality to teach the purpose and necessity of His ministry among men. It is in fact at this feast Christ made an incredible proclamation as we read in John 7:37-38: A Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, >If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, AFrom his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.@=@
The fall season was much anticipated because it meant rest. The growing season was over, the last of the harvest was at hand. When the trumpet/shofar sounded on the day on atonement, it signaled the end of the harvest and the beginning of tribulation (Lev. 23:27-32) and the announcement of atonement which followed as the High Priest appeared from the Holy of Holies a second time to announce their national salvation.
This is the symbolism God used to show first century Christians what was happening in their time. When He appeared, Christ found the fields
Awhite unto harvest@ and for 40 years the harvest was brought in by His disciples and those they called. That harvest began at Pentecost and ended at the fall of Jerusalem. The great commission had been completed (Col. 1:6, 23) and the promised sabbath (Heb. 4:9f) had come and the New Jerusalem came down as promised.We should with joyous celebration rejoiced in the glory of God
=s perfect work.
The Apprentice
=s JournalWell, the end of the month has come and gone and I
=m still working on the August newsletter. The double mailing was an immediate clue, I=m sure. There is more to report than space allows but let me get to the most important news in a ABack to the Future@ kind of way.At 3:33 a.m. on September 2, 2006, Sarah Elizabeth King emerged into our world as God
=s gift of our first granddaughter! She weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long. If my memory serves me correctly those stats matched her mother=s weight and length Ajust yesterday@.
Big
brothers Geren, Joshua and David were excited to see their sister and couldn=t
wait to hold her. So, in the wee hours of the morning they all took turns
holding and beholding the wonder of our heavenly Father.
Needless to say, Granna was ecstatic and most anxious to get her hands on the new arrival. It
=s been a long time since she had a little girl to spoil and she took great delight in dressing Sarah in the pink whatever-you-call-it she=s wearing here.Grandfather was pretty much out of the picture except for taking a few pictures of the celebration. That should not be taken to mean I
=m any less excited about having another grandchild than all the rest. The silent celebration of the heart is a special thing amidst all the excitement, flashing cameras and bodies crowding in for a closer inspection.God be praised for his care and keeping of Sarah and Laura these past nine months and for the blessed conclusion with all well and healthy.
After a few hours of rest and bonding time with Laura, I finally had the opportunity to hold sweet little Sarah. I couldn
=t help but reflect on the first time I held my little sister, Jan, who was born when I was seven. It was interesting to make the connection with Sarah=s brothers as they held her and ponder whether they enjoyed the same wonder I did fifty years ago.At the same time, memories of the first time I held Laura, thirty-five years ago, flooded my mind and heart. Now, as then, I pray God
=s blessing on the precious life He has created.A
Sarah@ means a noble female, princess, or queen. The Asar@ has the connotation of being head or dominative. She is certainly calling the shots at the moment and, having been a big brother, I suspect she will have a controlling interest for some time to come! (Now you know why this is coming in September instead of August)On the home front, the hummingbirds have begun to assemble for their annual air show before heading south. I only see three or four at a time at the moment but the buzzing throng can
=t be far away. I=m always amazed by their antics but marvel at God=s wonders. How these tiniest of birds can wing their way across the Gulf of Mexico is just more than I can comprehend. Let=s see, they beat their wings sixty to eighty times a minute, fly at sixty miles and hour and cross roughly 800 miles of open water. You do the math and then think about flapping your arms up and down that many times without stopping. Incredible!The yard continues to be more than I make time to contend with on a weekly basis. I manage to keep it mowed but that
=s about it. The garden is still yielding okra but very soon I=m going to spray the whole thing with Round-Up in the hope of killing the weeds which have migrated from the city=s poorly maintained lot next door.All the ponds and the stream need attention as the ferns have covered about half the rocks in the area. One small pond has completely disappeared in the foliage so thinning is definitely in order. Things left untended have a way of getting out of control!
On that note, I can
=t help but reflect that ten years ago this month I was alerted to another area of personal responsibility I had neglected for 29 years. That awakening was pivotal in my life and accounts for some of what you read here. A few will be familiar with the story but I share it here for the benefit of those who have come along since.Back in June, I told you about celebrating the 70th birthday of an old friend and employer. As we looked through his scrap
book, one of the things we talked about was how we worked so hard to elect a local politician who turned out to be a scoundrel. That was about the same time I worked in the Nixon campaign only to later regret my lack of discernment of character.
It was at that point I decided to leave government to the politicos and just devote myself to kingdom matters. If you don=t see the disconnect, you are in good company; most people don=t and neither did I - then.
The comparmentalization of our faith is such a subtle misstep it is easily overlooked. What I overlooked, and what many Christian today still overlook, was that my faith was to have practical application in all arenas of life. My rationalization eased my conscience about not involving myself more in the arena of government but the minor relief it provided over the years turned to an object of immense guilt at my awakening in 1996.
I=ll not rehearse all the details here (to the relief of several I=m sure). The short version is that I heard a man on C-SPAN saying things one morning that just aren=t said in political circles, especially in D.C.
He was talking about the need to restore America=s Christian roots and constitutional government. I quickly learned that Howard Phillips was the presidential candidate for the U. S. Taxpayers Party (now the Constitution Party) and made a note of their number to investigate further. Later that day, the convention for the party was being aired so I watched all I could and made a videotape to watch the remainder later.
It would be extremely difficult to describe the sense of conviction I felt as a parade of Ajust plain folks@ took the platform to express their concern for our country and their desire to do something to stem the tide of rising socialism and open tyranny. Their vigilance stood in judgment of my casual complacency and that demanded action.
The process would take months to really develop in my thinking but I quickly began to see how compromised I was; and how compromised our way of life had become because of complacency and apathy. I knew lots of Christian friends who shared concerns about where we were headed and I was sure I would find wide acceptance and support for this fledgling effort.
It would be impossible to have been more wrong.
Friends and family could readily admit to the problems we face but very few acknowledge their complicity in the problem much less do anything to reverse the present trend. Today, the situation remains much the same except that the level of tyranny has risen exponentially.
We must remember that WE are the government - not our elected representatives. God gave US charge over and responsibility for the way our servants behave. We cannot hope to ignore that duty and please God. It simply is not possible. This country was founded to be a nation of law, not the whim of sinful men. When I realized my error, I repented with tears running down my face. I knelt, humbled before God, and asked for forgiveness and direction. The conviction of those days ten years ago drives me to this day to warn others not to make the mistake I did.
If you are neglecting your duty, I pray you will do so no longer. Whatever else we may be called to in this life, we are by virtue of our birth called to govern this country Aunder God@. Let us all pledge to put duty ahead of party spirit and restore liberty and justice for all. If we do, we will put ourselves in a place where God can bless our efforts. To do otherwise is to become His enemy.