A Call to Prayer: Pride Wins No Crown
Writer and scholar C. S. Lewis said, “There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine they are guilty themselves…The essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through pride that the devil became the devil; pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people, and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
Lewis points out how pride began with the devil becoming the devil - he was ousted from heaven as an angelic being when he wanted to be worshiped as God. Isaiah 14 records five “I wills” of satan. “For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” The Lord then responds to Lucifer’s five pompous declarations with His own five responses, “Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’…But you are cast out of your grave like an abominable branch…You will not be joined with them in burial because you have destroyed your land and slain your people…”
There are, in essence, two worship movements happening on Planet Earth. The true worship of the Lord worthy of our adoration and obedience and satan’s longing to be like God and be worshiped - which can take many forms as long as it draws people away from the worship of the Lord - such as money, fame, honor among men, or addictions.
The account of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 speaks of the pride of man unified to build a tower to reach heaven and “make a name for ourselves.” (vs. 4). God was not pleased with this prideful false worship center and scattered them among the nations by confusing their speech. The competition for building the tallest tower continues to this day. The Home Insurance Building of Chicago was built in 1885 as the first skyscraper, followed by the Eiffel Tower of 1887, then New York’s Empire State Building of 1889, the World Trade Center of 1971-73, the Willis Tower of Chicago, the Petronas Tower of Kuala Lumpur, all the way to the Burji Khalifa of Dubai standing presently as the tallest tower. Not to be outdone, there are monstrous cathedrals built to awe, culminating with Germany’s Ulm Minster.
God has a way of bringing down the proud; as Proverbs 16:18 states, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” In his classic book Humility, Andrew Murray defines humility as ‘dependence on God.’ He also states, “Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around and above is trouble.” Furthermore, he states, “Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.”
Here is a dangerous prayer: “Lord, reveal and deal with any pride in me.” If we mean it, the Lord will help orchestrate events to reveal threads or strongholds of pride He seeks to demolish. David prayed similarly, “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxieties. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Ps. 139:23- 24).
Indeed, there are two worship movements on the earth: that which glorifies satan albeit subtly as the exaltation of self or that which glorifies God. Let’s reflect, memorize, highlight, and live the words of Philippians 2:5-11, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. “ What an incredible Savior to humble Himself to leave the glories of heavenly splendor to embrace humanity. May that kind of humility be reflected in us. Let’s worship Him forever.
P.S. Are you new to JH Israel’s Call to Prayer? Are you interested in learning more about our global prayer network? Click here to fill out a form to learn more about our prayer initiatives.
