The Pride Slide

“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, ¹⁸ and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, ‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.'” 2 Chronicles 26:16-18 (ESV)

Uzziah did right in the eyes of the Lord and as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. Over a period of time, pride began to seep into Uzziah’s life resulting in a slide that had devastating consequences.

• “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” Prov 16:5 (ESV)
• “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov 16:18 (ESV)

Uncover the poison of pride. You will never reach your full redemptive potential while fertilizing pride in your life. Pride has no place in the Christian life fully yielded to the Lordship of Christ. The poison of pride will inhibit the fruit of the Spirit and stifle your effectiveness in the kingdom.

Avoid the pride slide. Instead of an ego trip, we need to go on an integrity trip. Get honest about your destitution and your spiritual poverty before God. Identify and eliminate any fraction of pride in your life. Embrace the way of humility and recognize your dependency upon God and His abundant grace.

Chronological Bible Reading Plan: (Day 189:  2 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 26)

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell