The Power of Pride

The other day I was driving home following one of those luxury vehicles with a bumper sticker on it of all things. Welcome to the South. The background of the sticker was the American flag and in bold print it read: “The Power of Pride.” No better statement to describe the terrible condition our country is in right now. Pride has taken down more countries than any war. Pride has ruined more companies than any economic downturn. Pride has destroyed more families and marriages than drugs or alcohol. Pride has split more churches and crushed more Christians than any terrorist attack. The fact is that pride kills. Why?

Our country of today is selfish not selfless. We are tuned into the most popular radio station of all time. Running in our heads 24 hours a day each day of the week. It is WIIFM. (What's In It For Me) We see it on our television screens. I want this and I want that. I want the bigger house. I want the bigger car or the better boat. In churches across the nation we hear I want to be moved. I want to be filled by the Spirit. I want a message that tells me how good I am. I want music that moves me. I want a church that meets my needs. We hear people crying out I, I, I.

Look at the word “Pride.” What is the middle letter? Yes, that is right it is “I.” Pride is about self. Pride brought down King David. Pride brought down Solomon. Pride is killing America. Pride is killing you. Now look at the word “Sin.” What is the middle letter? Right again, it is “I.” Now here is the kicker. What is the middle letter in the word “Lucifer?” Go ahead and say it.

In this MTV generation it is hard not to desire a bathroom so big you can play baseball in it. Cruising down main street on a motorcycle that costs more than the average home. We push our children to get better grades so they can go to college so they can get that high paying job. Learn to climb the corporate ladder. Telling them not to care about the people they step-on while on their way up because they have no intention of ever stepping back down. Do it for yourself. If it is going to be then it is up to me is the saying. Look at what the prophet Micah told the leaders of Israel.

I said, “Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong, but you are the very ones who hate good and love evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh from their bones. Yes, you eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin, and break their bones. You chop them up like meat for the cooking pot. Then you beg the Lord for help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to answer? After all the evil you have done, he won’t even look at you!” Micah 3:1-4 (NLT)

Are we really much different from the 8th century B.C.? The problems facing Israel nearly 3,000 years ago still face us today. The power of pride is a power not from God.