Title: Pride is the vanguard of destruction
Pride is the vanguard of destruction
Text: Proverbs 18:12
“The pride of a man’s heart is the forerunner of destruction, and humility before honor.”
A pair of geese were preparing to move south when a frog came and asked to take them with them. He said that if there was a way to take the geese, he would. The frog brought a long weave of reeds. The goose bit both ends with its beak, and the frog bit the center of it with its mouth and flew. The farmers who saw this sight said that the travel equipment was really good and marveled at the wisdom of who made it. The frog frowned and opened its mouth to say.
"I made this device."
At that moment, he lost the reed that was biting the frog and fell to the ground and died. If you are arrogant and bragging about yourself, there is nothing to gain.
“The lofty eyes and the proud heart and the prosperity of the wicked are all sin” (Proverbs 21:4).
There is this story in Aesop's fables. A crow sat on a tree, biting a large chunk of meat. As they are about to eat meat, a fox comes under the tree and tells the crow to speak. They say that they have never heard a sound as good as you in the world and ask them to sing a song with a beautiful voice. So the crow groaned with a proud heart. After screaming for a while, when I tried to eat meat, there was no meat. When I looked down, I saw that the fox had already run away with the fish that had fallen from the crow's mouth.
When I say good-bye, the food goes away. If you are arrogant, happiness in your arms goes away, love goes away, material things go away, and blessings go away too. If you think you are standing, you will fall. When we think we're good, we're always going backwards. You must be humble throughout your life in order to receive great grace before God and be used preciously.
“When a man is proud he will be humbled, but if he is humble in heart he will find honor” (Proverbs 29:23).
It happened during the Civil War. A Confederate soldier from the 21st Alabama Regiment stood in front of the enemy, wearing the first developed body armor. “With this body armor, I will never die.” I shouted arrogantly at the enemy like this. Then a bullet flew from somewhere and the soldier fell on the spot. The enemy was aiming at his head, not his chest in body armor. A soldier who had only one side covered and believed the whole was safe, unfortunately lost his life because of his folly.
“I lack nothing. So the pride of saying, “I have nothing to ask of God” is foolishness. The Bible tells us to acknowledge God in all things. With every step we take, we should not rely on our wisdom or power, but seek God's guidance. Seeking God's guidance means acknowledging His guidance as the highest good, and ultimately obeying His will. The psalmist said that unless God builds the house, those who build it labor in vain, and unless God guards the city, it is in vain that the watchmen keep their eyes open. In the end, it means that God is in control of everything, whether people admit it or not, and he needs to help and guide him for things to happen. No matter how hard people try, if God stops them, it will be of no use.
“The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and humility is a guide to honor” (Proverbs 15:33).
Dr. John Owen of Oxford University would visit the ignorant tinker John Bunyan whenever he visited London and listen to his sermons. One day King Charles asked Dr. Owen. “What do you lack in your learning, so you go to listen to that vulgar Bunyan sermon?” Dr. Owen replied: “If only I could have the gifts of that tinker, I would be willing to give up all my learning.”
Bunyan, an ignorant tinker who was respected by Dr. Owen, eventually completed the classic 'Road of the Heavenly Father' while in prison. There are two enemies that a person will have to fight against throughout his life. One is pride, who thinks he is superior to others, and the other is self-contempt, when he thinks he is inferior. Humility, neither pride nor contempt, is the ability to safely cross the rough road of life.
“Therefore, I, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, striving to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4). : 2, 3)
At first, the apostle Paul said, 'I am the least of the apostles' (1 Corinthians 15:9), but as his faith matured, he became 'the least of all the saints' (Ephesians 3:8). a beast' (1 Timothy 1:15). As your faith grows, you become more humble and humble. However, God cannot work on a proud heart that says that I have been born again, knows a little bit more about the Bible, and boasts that I have received tongues, visions, and revelations. So sometimes God breaks us. It is painful and painful when broken and broken, but the person who confesses, "God, please take care of me. I will become the person God pleases" and rises from that pain, in the end, he will stand as a person of faith, patience, and wisdom. Will be.
Everything we have is God-given, and we just use it well and take care of it. Do not forget that it is God who gave us all and be humble.
* Prayer: O Lord, who will be honored and glorified forever, help me not to boast and abuse the honor, power, and gifts you have given me as if it were my own. Grant me a humble and humble heart to seek God's grace every day and every day. Help me to be humble and humble before God and people so that I can experience your grace and live. May we always remember Augustine's words that the virtues of believers are first humility, second humility, and third humility. We pray in the name of our Savior Jesus. Amen
▣ Bible verses about pride
0 .... lest your heart become arrogant and forget the LORD your God... (Deuteronomy 8:13-14)
0 You will save the afflicted people, and you will examine the proud and bring them down (2 Samuel 22:28).
0 The proud have lied against me, but I will keep Your precepts with all my heart (Psalm 119:69).
0 Although the LORD is on high, he shows respect for the lowly; he knows the proud from afar (Psalm 138:6).
0 When pride comes, there comes reproach, but wisdom is with the humble (Proverbs 11:2).
0 The scorner does not like to be rebuked, nor does he go to the wise (Proverbs 15:12).
0 Better to be humble with the humble than to share the spoil with the proud (Proverbs 16:19).
0 When a man is proud he will be humbled, but if he is humble in heart he will find honor (Proverbs 29:23).
0 We all know that we have knowledge of things sacrificed to idols, but knowledge makes us proud, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1).
(2 Corinthians 10:5) and brought down every exaltation that was exalted against the knowledge of God, and took every thought captive to the obedience of Christ
0 In the same way, young people, be submissive to the elders, and all gird yourselves with humility toward one another. For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, for in due time he will exalt you (1 Peter 5:5). -6)