Do you remember the signs that said, “Public Enemy Number One”? The F. B. I. made an all out attempt to get the person who occupied that place, and for good reason. They were dangerous! But, so are a lot of other things in life.
We hear a lot of talk about enemies and harmful things. We talk about enemies to our health, relationships, environment, nation, etc., but we hear little or nothing about our worst enemy–PRIDE. Is there anything that has been a greater scourge to society? Has anything been more harmful to humanity? Yet few feel threatened by it. To the contrary, some are proud of their pride– some even carry signs that say so. They play with pride as though it is a pet kitten rather than fear it as a roaring lion. Even those who admit to it usually see it as a mere fault rather than a serious sin. They love what God hates. They treat as a friend their deadliest foe.
This awful adversary does terrible things. Every sin, crime, and injustice can, in some way, be attributed to pride. And considering that we have nothing to be proud of, pride is as foolish as anything could be. Yet telling a proud person he is foolish won’t change him. It is not until he sees the danger and the destructiveness of pride that you might be able to get his attention. Explaining that, however, usually isn’t enough. He needs an experience rather than an explanation. He has to get hurt before he gets help.
If we would humble ourselves before God, as He commands, we not only would escape harm, we would experience great blessings. And the only thing that prevents us from doing that is pride. Think about it!
