Walk of Life, Day 29 – August 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs.
A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverbs 29:23
Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility. Proverbs 18:12 This is a verse which gives a straight caution to every believer to check the state of his/her heart. When the heart is arrogantly superior or haughty, it is on the way to destruction. When one thinks that there is no one better than him/her or thinks he/she is always right and does not give place for correction, such a person can be termed as haughty. The self explanatory sentence which says it brings him low, as God’s word says those who honor me lightly will lightly be esteemed.
Some people cannot look into themselves because they always think that they are correct and righteous and try to judge others. It would be a humble act to first self-examine rather than others judging us. We need to submit to each other in love. Its better to walk cautiously in our narrow way carrying the cross.
Haughty eyes , haughty walk, and haughty words arise when your heart is haughty. It is all sin, and its because of the pride that is resting in the heart. A man’s pride like a gravitational force that brings him down, in whatever he does, he would be the least not just the worldly things, his faith goes down, prayer life is low, it is all because of the enemy ‘pride’. Satan is the author of PRIDE, which made him think that he is better than GOD and had him thrown him down to earth from heaven.
Honor upholds the humble, our Lord Jesus is humble and gentle, He has a lowly spirit which is so pure and heart touching. When someone is humble, its seen in their actions as well. Lord Jesus’ humility can be seen in his choices, like choosing to be born in a manger, rode on a donkey, he doesn’t have a place to live in, Jesus sat along with sinners, and He chose to forgive a sinner who was caught red-handed in sin. But none can judge others saying he/she is humble or proud. We usually judge people saying they are humble, true state of heart is only known to God who judges not our outward humility but intents of the heart which are very deep. Those who are gentle and humble not just outwardly to gain praises but in the heart receive honor from God Almighty. God is waiting to bless the lowly heart, with good faith, God’s love, forgiveness, and God’s power, hope and confidence in Him. In addition to all the spiritual blessings, God also honors them with success in their jobs and in everything they do, as we see in the Old Testament, God was with Moses in everything he did, God was with Joseph in everything he put his hand to, likewise Joshua. We need to note here that great people of God do the commandments of God and receive God’s help.
Let us humble our heart, mind,and soul so that it reflects in our being and glorifies God in the sight of the world. Psalm 138:6 says Though the LORD be high, yet has he respect to the lowly: but the proud he knows afar off. The Lord respects the humble but the proud are known to Him from afar. Does God listen to the prayer of a proud heart?
