Pride Before A Fall

 

Pride Will Bring You Low

Scripture: Proverbs 29:23 (ESV)

²³          One’s pride will bring him low,

but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

 

Meditation:

            We have just finished the month of June. Which is for better or worse known as pride month. You may be aware of the fact that pride was not celebrated in the West until the last five minutes ago culturally. Pride, in fact, was thought of as the vilest of sins. The Greek/Hebrew equivalents of the word pride occurs 52 times and never as a positive trait. So how did the vilest sin come to be an attitude of ultimate celebration and veneration in such a few short years? Well, I cannot give a detailed explanation in these 500 to 600 words, but I hope I can get across a few main points as I try to wrap this up for us.

            First, we begin with the change in the use of the word pride in society. Some forms of pride were now celebrated. Every year here in the mid-west fall brings us a season known as homecoming. Everyone is expected to display some kind of “pride” symbol supporting their local football team. Pride was slowly taking on this positive connotation. Pride no longer brought forth images of hell and punishment but rather girls in short dresses leading cheers for hundreds of loyal fans.

            Other groups noticing this change decided to capitalize on this new meaning of pride as well. Their motives may not have been pedestrian motives and rooted in good clean fun. Suddenly pride took on a dramatic sexual connotation. It started out as a pride day, but soon morphed into an entire pride month. The parades and attractions at pride celebration became more and more open debauchery celebrating not pride but sexual license.

            Now I believe in free speech. It is the bedrock upon which our freedoms and civil rights are built upon. When speech goes on to become vile and obscene there must be some limiting principle. How far does the country have to travel down this road before we as a culture stand up and say, ENOUGH! This carnival of sin masquerading as free speech needs to be brought to a heel.

            Let 2023 be the year that the populace demanded to be shown decency and respect in public displays of sex. God has been very patient with us. If the things done in our streets during pride month had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, we would all be toast.

Prayer:

            Lord hear our prayers and cries before your throne. Righteousness and justice have been trashed in our streets. Help us to have the courage to stand up for ourselves but especially our children. We are already leaving them financially bankrupt, but now morally bankrupt as well. Bring us to our knees in repentance and prayer as we seek a future for our youth that is God honoring and God blessed. Amen.