This past Wednesday we unpacked the issue of pride as being one of the biggest things that opposes God. While it differs a lot from the first two weeks of the devil and other religions, this one hits a lot closer to home with us. We talk about SIN, focusing on the "I" in sin to describe doing what "I" want instead of what God wants. The pride of elevating ourselves or our ideas and plans above God is a huge issue now, just like it was then. So many stories in the Bible are directed toward the people on both extremes that had pride issues. On one end, those that oppose God by rejecting Him as God and elevating themselves as being sufficient enough to save themselves. And the other end are the religious leaders who were so wrapped up in the pride of their religiosity that they put their actions of religion above God and everyone else.
We looked at the example of King Manasseh and the fluctuation we find of good and bad kings in Israel and Judah. With King Manasseh, we see the typical cycle of sin, punishment, repentance and redemption that was so prevalent during the kingdom years of the Old Testament. When God allows the Assyrians to capture King Manasseh, put a hook in his nose and take him back to Babylon, we see his pride fall away and he humbles himself before the Lord. And when he does, God forgives him and allows him to return to Jerusalem. And while this cycle is shown all throughout the Bible, it is still very much a part of our life now. Of course, the main difference is that we now have Jesus interceding on our behalf and the Holy Spirit convicting us to keep us from getting to far into sin and our pride, if we're willing to listen.
We also read some great advice from James who was trying to convince a group of people to turn from their prideful ways and repent. And while we don't necessarily fall into the category of the people that James was writing to, we certainly move through times of sin where we put our desires and plans above those of God's and need to humble ourselves.
It's always a good reminder to me that, while a Christian, my actions and decisions can sometimes put me in opposition to God. Just because I have been saved by faith through grace does not give me license to sin. While redeemed, I am still sinful and pride is always going to be something I have to keep watch for. However, our God is merciful and gracious and is very quick to forgive when we ask. God is good!
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