Ezekiel 28:1,2
The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In the pride of your heart you say, ‘I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.’ But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.”
So, the question we have to ask ourselves is, where are we at with our pride? Has it been crucified with Christ, or is it running rampant behind the scenes of our hearts? It’s extremely difficult to sow a seed of righteousness when you’re sowing from a heart full of pride.
It’s a vicious cycle; our spiritual pride feeds our self-righteousness, and our self-righteousness feeds our judgment of others. And the cycle goes on and on until it’s crucified, covered, and cast out by our King! We all have those around us that need the love, mercy, and grace that God has extended us through Jesus Christ, but are we willing to give it to those around us? Or are we too busy being right to see how wrong we are?
I fail at this often. Taking my eyes off of Christ for even a minute can take me down a road no one wants to go down, and no one benefits from. A quick glance away from the Lord, and I can forget how much He has given me, how much mercy, grace, love, and much more than I deserve, and it’s my responsibility to extend that to those around me. Mercy, grace, and love don’t stop with us but should flow through us to those around us!
Thankfully, the Lord is patient and merciful, willing to teach and re-teach me often. He forgives me when I don’t deserve it and teaches me when I miss the mark! So, today, I repented and asked for help because I needed it! We never outgrow needing the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of the Lord! I’m called to sow seeds for the Kingdom and not for the flesh!
Luke 6:35,36 – “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Galatians 6:8 - Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Ezekiel 28:5, 17
“By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud…Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”
In this chapter about the king of Tyre, we find two great warnings that we must pay attention to. Before we get too far into this, we must understand that wealth and beauty are both gifts from the LORD. Neither one of them is inherently evil on their own, but when left unchecked or even worshipped, they become a dangerous pitfall to us and even can be a snare to those around us. The LORD Himself is beautiful beyond belief and has more wealth than the world can hold, yet He is not controlled nor subject to either; are we? Does our pocketbook determine our personality? Does the way we view ourselves change the way we view others?
The LORD clearly shows us that love of money and love of self lead to pride, and this pride will lead to the grave. Each one of us is created in God’s image, for God’s glory and purposes, but when we pervert that, pride can creep in. Pride is a deceptive sin, one that sneaks in and grabs hold of us. Pride likes to clothes itself in things that look or seem good, but at the core, it’s intentions are only evil.
Pride grows in the heart and life of the one who worships and serves anyone or anything other than God, but it can also grow in the heart of the believer. Each one of us must be on guard against this enemy we call pride. For this enemy of ours is looking to take root in our hearts and separate us from our God. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, and one of the things He modeled perfectly was humility. Humbling ourselves must be a priority and one that will bring about lasting effects. For the one who humbles himself before the Lord will be lifted up in Him both now and forever!
Psalm 138:6- Though the LORD is great, He cares for the humble, but He keeps His distance from the proud.
James 4:10- Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
God bless! I love you all, but His love is sweeter than honey! Praise, glory, and honor now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
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