I was sitting in my office today when a co-worker came in and began discussing a situation. In the situation, if someone breaks procedure, he/she is given consequences. I sat and laughed at this not because people would be hurt but because of the haughtiness of some of us. It brought back to my remembrance Proverbs 16:18. I kept hearing that pride goes before the fall but when I read the scripture, I learnt that something had been lost in translation.
The scripture reads:
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
Yet, I kept hearing people say that pride would come before a fall. That pride would be someone's downfall. Not to lessen the importance of humility but those that kept repeating this scripture missed some key points. Yes, theoretically, pride does come before the fall, but there are 2 key things missing. Destruction and a haughty spirit.
Pride goes before destruction. Your pride will keep you bound in some mess because you are too arrogant to ask for help. Here's an example. A young preacher is struggling with gossip. Instead of asking his elders for assistant in this area of weakness, he decides to keep it to himself. Not realizing that his pride could lead to his destruction. I mean who wants a gossiping pastor? Who can trust them with their issues and problems?
A haughty spirit before a fall. While haughtiness can be seen as pride, it is actually more than that. It is a level of arrogance where you show contempt for those you believer is beneath you. My, my. Haughtiness will cause you to fall. I remember hearing to treat all people with respect as the same people you meet on the way up the ladder of success, you will meet on the way down. Here's an example. A young woman is being herald as the top performer at her company. She takes these kudos to heart and grows in her haughtiness over the years. She is rude and disrespectful to others in her department and treats the secretaries and janitors as if she's too good for them. In a meeting one day, the boss openly speaks on his displeasure of her work and criticizes her openly. This begins her decent down the corporate ladder. Now what? Where is that haughtiness she openly showed before?
I write this as a twofold message. One, leave pride and haughtiness alone. They are not your friends. Ultimately, they will steer you down the wrong path and leave you searching for the parts of yourself that you lost along the way. Two, read the bible for yourself. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) Others can tell you want they interpret it to be, but you need to have an understanding of the Word all on your own. Don't let the Word be misinterpreted (even when not intentional) and then you go and live on that word that will guide you down the wrong path.
Be A Blessing and Not Just Blessed
- Nakya