From Boaster to Beast
Friday, March 8, 2024
“Pride is as clearly the sign of destruction as the change of mercury in the barometer is the sign of rain, and far more infallibly so than that.” – C.H. Spurgeon
Ah, pride… the original sin! How it brought Lucifer low and does the same to us today. Pride gives birth to selfishness, envy, greed, lust, and an unhealthy and unrealistic sense of entitlement. Look at me, everyone! Instead of God being the rightful center of our life, we demand to be in the spotlight 24/7.
Here is how Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” describes this insidious sin disease that so plagues mankind, from the king’s palace to the peasant’s hut…
“Let David’s aching heart show that there is an eclipse of a man’s glory when he dotes upon his own greatness (2 Samuel 24:10). Observe Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty builder of Babylon, creeping on the earth, devouring grass like a beast, his nails grown like the bird's claws, and his hair like eagle's feathers (Daniel 4:33). Pride made the boaster a beast, as once before it made an angel a devil. God hates high looks and never fails to bring them down. All the arrows of God are aimed at proud hearts.”
“Your flaunting poppies of self-conceit will be pulled up by the roots, your mushrooming graces will wither in the burning heat, and your self-sufficiency will become as straw for the dunghill. If we forget to live at the foot of the cross in deepest lowliness of spirit, God will not forget to discipline us for our good.”
Peter addressed the same subject in his first epistle…
“Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.” I Peter 5:5-6 (BSB)
Oh, that God would crucify our pride on Calvary’s cross and leave it eternally nailed to that tree… preventing us from ever accessing it again.
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16:18-19 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
