PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL

There is a story told in 2 Chronicles 26 of a young man who is anointed King of Jerusalem.

This young king’s name was Uzziah and he was only 16 years old when he was appointed as king.  He reigned over Jerusalem for fifty-two years and it states that “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and “as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success”.
Uzziah became very powerful, but as his power and fame grew “…his pride led to his downfall.”

 One day he went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar.  Now only the priests who had been consecrated or dedicated to God were allowed to burn incense in the temple.  Uzziah had become so conceited and powerful that he no longer believed that the decrees (official ruling or law) God had put in place applied to him.

Eighty-one priests followed him into the temple to warn him that he was being unfaithful and disobedient to God.  He refused to listen and God afflicted him with leprosy.  He lived out the rest of his life in a house set apart from everyone else, not able to socialise or enjoy his great wealth and power.
We often see the same thing happening in today’s world.  An evangelist becomes famous, everyone respects and admires him and he starts to let all this adulation go to his head.  One day you turn on the television to the following announcement “Famous preacher caught in an adulterous affair” or “Well known evangelist found embezzling church funds”.
This evangelist, a man of God, had lost sight of the fact that everything he had been given – the gift of being a great speaker or the gift of healing – had been given to him by God to be used for the glory of God.
Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.” (LAB)

There is another proverb that says “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom”.
This proverb became a reality in my life once I had children.

My sister had her children before me and I was quick to criticize her raising of them. I used to tell my husband “I will never allow our children to behave like that” or “Why doesn’t she control them” etc.

God then gave me children of my own and I had to go and humbly ask her for forgiveness for the way I judged her in raising her children.  Raising children is the most challenging thing I have ever had to do in my life and it is not just babies who have teething problems but their parents do as well. In fact the parents teething problems continue throughout the child's life!
By acknowledging my mistakes and learning from them, by being humble enough to ask for advice I have found wisdom in those situations just as the proverb states we will.
In fact it is only because I have children that I have such a close relationship with God.  I am constantly on my knees before Him asking for forgiveness, Godly wisdom, patience and humour in raising my children!

P.S. My sister’s children are all grown now and they are the most wonderful, kind, caring human beings.

 

 

 

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

There is a Maori proverb that says “Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you”.

My only new year’s resolution this year is to continue looking upwards towards the Son.

The following is an extract from my book which illustrates so beautifully what happens when we look up:

 

“A friend once told me about a lecture she had attended. The woman

giving it worked with mentally-challenged children and told the audience

these children never looked up. They either looked straight ahead

or down. Due to this limited point of view, they limited their knowledge

of the world around them.

 

The lecturer explained how she started conducting an exercise

with the children, asking them to lie on the grass outside looking

upward. She said it was an incredible experience to watch their facial

expressions change, as some saw clouds for the first time. An aeroplane

flew past and they gasped in amazement. A flock of birds flew overhead,

and there was joy on their faces.

Then the lecturer shared how she taught the children to stand and

look upward. It took a long time for them to adjust to looking up. All the

delights and beauty of the sky had been theirs from the time they were

born; yet, they had never seen it.

 

This exercise reminded me of how many of us live our lives exactly

as these children had lived theirs before being taught to lift their heads

up. We are so caught up in our own problems and pain that we fail

to look up. Being self-absorbed causes us to miss out on so much of

what God wants to give us. Our heads are bowed down with sin, failure,

unforgiveness—the list seems endless. We cannot see the beauty around

us because we are looking downward.

In Leviticus 26:13 God declares, “I am the LORD your God, who

brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the

Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with

heads held high.”

God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us so we no longer

need be slaves to our sin and negative emotions. Through the forgiveness

granted to us by His shed blood, we are free to walk with our head

held high. Psalm 3:3 proclaims, “But you are a shield around me, O

LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”

For some, it takes years to change attitudes and outlooks on life.

 

Eventually, just as the lecturer’s children learned to lift their heads up,

we can also learn to look outward and upward to see and receive all

God’s blessings that He wants to rain down on us.”