Based on Psalm 8 (New King James Version)
“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!”
John C. Maxwell said: “There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. 'Good pride' represents our dignity and self-respect. 'Bad pride' is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.” I completely agree with Maxwell’s view on pride. If we objectively take a look around, we will be able to see that there is an incredible lack of balance between ‘good pride’ and ‘bad pride’.
People in general are missing that ‘good pride’ that Maxwell spoke about. People have lost the concept of shame in wrong doing. There should be a sense of guilt when a person does something wrong. But instead, and to avoid the sense of guilt, society has turned wrong doing into the acceptable, and dare I say, has glorified that which should be shameful. Many people stand proud and defend that which is indefensible. They declare sin as a public right and that all people should hail such things as praiseworthy and honorable. Our school systems not only adopt, but indoctrinate our younger generations to accept and embrace those things that go against God. The morality that involved ‘good pride’ has nearly become extinct in our society.
And what has replaced ‘good pride’ is an inordinate amount of ‘bad pride’. Things are no longer decided based on ideals, but rather, on personal pride and gain. Our leaders manipulate and dismember the justice system to carry out their plans and fulfill their own hidden agendas with the sense of pride and arrogance, feeling that they are untouchable. As opposed to controlling their pride, they continue to feed and nurture their arrogance to further exalt themselves.
And yet, how can people allow themselves to be fooled by their pride, thinking that they are invincible? How can people become so blind to the reality that we as human beings are nothing? Every single person will die at some point, in one way or another. No human being can escape the reality that they are fragile and powerless; that they have no control. Good health can be lost in a moment. Wealth is an illusion, where it exists one day, and can easily go somewhere else in an instant. And power? What is real power? So what if a person has the power at their fingertips to destroy the world in minutes? What about their life? Can’t someone else just as easily take their life with something far less menacing than a nuclear device? What is man in the grand scheme of things?
If we consider our surroundings; creation and the universe, we should be able to see that we are not very significant at all; and that we are not in control. We can explain many things in the universe through science and math, but can we replicate those things? Can we control the magnetic force of the earth? Can we control or change the rotation of our planet? Do we have any control over the planets in our solar system? Can we impact the sun? What if a meteor the size of Texas was to hit the earth?
And despite our many accomplishments as a race, we are incredibly limited even in our daily life. There are many diseases that have no cure. Depending on the amount, air and water (very simple elements) are still a challenge to deal with such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons. With enough energy, earthquakes can be quite destructive, causing large losses in lives and property. Accidents happen daily to different kinds of people. Wealth does not insulate anyone from even the most trivial of occurrences.
Here is what God said to Job, to help him understand what was man in front of the Creator: Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: ‘Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ‘Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!’ ‘Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken. ‘Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. ‘Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, that you may take it to its territory, that you may know the paths to its home? Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great? Job 38:1-21.
What reason do people have for their pride? Can anyone be more than God? Bear in mind, “Reality is not based on a person’s opinion.” So, do you understand your reality, and that ‘bad pride’ should be done away with before the Almighty God? Lord bless! John