When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. Billy Graham

Pride Goes Before Destruction

Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
1Samuel 15:17-19

Lucifer was one of the archangels and was appointed by God to be an angel of worship but he fell because of pride when he sought to exalt himself above all others. As children of the living God, we have been given different gifts and talents to serve Him who called us. As we see His grace and power move in our lives, we must not forget that God is the source from whom all blessings flow and nothing of eternal value is ever achieved in our own strength.
When the prophet Samuel sought out Saul to be king, he said, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?” (1 Samuel 9:21) At that time, Saul had no pride and did not count himself worthy to be a king.

However, as time progressed, the Lord enabled him to win battles against the enemy and Saul became popular with the people. He grew proud, attributing his success to his own abilities and forgetting to give God the glory.
Pride inevitably leads to a fall and in Saul’s case, his arrogance led to disobedience. He had been commanded by God to destroy all the Amalekites, not sparing even the livestock, but Saul disobeyed and kept back the best of the enemy’s animals. When challenged by Samuel, Saul tried to cover his fault by saying that he had kept the best for sacrificing to the Lord but Samuel replied, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

 

We need to remember that God is more concerned with our obedience to His Word than an outward show of sacrifice. When God bestows His blessings upon us, let us not be boastful and proud but humbly acknowledge that He alone is our Provider and without Him, we can do nothing.
Dear Lord,

Thank You that I can depend on You to provide for all my needs. All that I have comes from Your mighty hand and belongs to You. Please guard my heart against pride and rebellion as I rely on Your grace to clothe me with Your love and humility. Amen.

God bless you,
Theo and Manju