Slideshow image

MUSIC BLOG

07-25-2024

Pride Cometh Before a Fall

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.2 Chronicles 26:16

Proverbs 29:23

A person’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

Pride Is Uzziah’s Undoing

But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was untrue to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense

Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any person who was on the face of the earth.)

1 Peter 5:5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.

For a man who has lived 67 years, God has given me many examples of the importance of being humble before Him.  The Lord listens to the humble.  Moses was the humblest man to have lived and God spoke to Moses as one friend to another. 

When Andrew was in 7th grade, he listened to his parents, which says a lot for a 7th grader.  One of his favorite foods was apple pie. The incident I have in mind was a homecoming at our church.  After the morning worship service, we walked into the area where the meal was set up. His eye immediately caught the last piece of apple pie on the dessert table.  His legs made a dash for that pie, He got it!  And in his moment of triumph, he didn’t see how flimsy his plate was.  It couldn’t bear the weight of that pie and his other food.  Everything on the plate ended up on the floor.  I will never forget the look of ecstatic joy on his face turning into the most distraught look of sorrow. 

There are many times in my life that scenario has been repeated over and over again.  The feeling that we are on top of the world is immediately followed by a dark sense of despair.  How many times have I finished an amazing project only to have someone rob me of my joy by a careless word or cruel action?  That project could have been a wonderful time of worship, a meaningful choir rehearsal, a performance or a successful mission trip.  Too many times, I have been like Elijah after defeating the prophets of Baal.  The very minute God gives a victory, you can be sure that a Jezebel will come roaring to endeavor to strike fear into the hearts of God’s prophet and people. 

May I learn to respond to the attacks of the enemy like Paul and not like Elijah!  Elijah, ran off and questioned God, complaining that death was better than what he was suffering.  God brought Elijah back around, but still....  Paul went face down to pray and in the Philippian jail, Paul and Silas had a choir rehearsal around midnight.  God used both men in great ways, but just once, Lord, couldn’t I be a “Paul”?

These examples have been given to us in the Bible because they are a part of all of our lives.  We can all point to times of great victory followed by some time in the “rough” to borrow a golfing term.  My life feels rough right now.  This summer has been super active; now it’s time to gear up for the new year.  To be truthful, I’m still running on empty.  Maybe it’s time to try being a Paul and let Elijah have a day or two of rest.  Maybe that’s what you need as well.

Blessings on you as you praise God in your jail cell.  He just might be ready to send an earthquake to shake things up for you too!

Marty