The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, “Who can bring me down to the ground?” Obadiah 1:3
Pride deceives us. It makes us think we’re self-sufficient, capable of determining our destiny and are safe in our little clefts—our comfort zones. We imagine we’re protected by our skills, resources and friends (verse 7). Yet God can destroy our defences in seconds.
God is determined to break our pride and make us realise how dependant on him we are. Pride is obnoxious to God because it’s a lie which presents a distorted view of life. It puffs up our view of ourselves and dethrones God from his rightful place in our lives. Pride gives us a false sense of security which overlooks real threats to our well being. Furthermore, it makes us insensitive to the needs of others. If we can successfully manage our own lives, why can’t they? When we realise our shortcomings we have more empathy.
God deals with our pride for our benefit. God knows we’ll never be truly happy until we’re holy—set apart for God and living the way he intends. He longs to see us functioning the way he created us. That is, in a close relationship with him where we trust him to supply us with grace so we can make wise decisions, live an upright life and be people of integrity. A scant look at the newspaper shows we rarely produce these qualities on our own.
Let’s lay down our pride and seek God’s help to live godly lives.
