Tuesday’s Food for Thought 23
The Pride of Life
‘Proud’ is okay for peacocks; not so for humankind…
You would think, that after the earth was flooded and most of humanity was wiped out, the repopulated planet would understand that God rules and reigns over all. However, it didn’t take all that much time to get themselves into mischief once more.
The Bible tells us that all of humankind decided to gather to live in one place (Gn. 11:2) Already they are acting contrary to God’s will, in that He commanded Adam and Eve to fill the entire earth (Gn. 1:28).
Also, at this time, they all spoke only one language (Gn. 11:1).
Furthermore, they decided to edify themselves, in a sense, to declare themselves independent from God:
They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the LORD] instructed].” Gn. 11:4 AMP
God reacts by confusing their language and scattering them over the face of the entire earth (Gn. 11:7, 8.).
God has a plan for all of us; and being fiercely independent of Him is not part of it. What kind of plan does God have?
‘For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’ Jer. 29:11 AMP
So, it’s a good plan; and it is one that is filled with the unimaginable. God will help you grab ahold of all that you could not by yourself (Mt. 19:26). Jehovah will bring you love, strength, and contentment through your dependency upon Him:
…because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Ps. 16:8 NASB
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me… Ps. 138:8 NKJV
And when you lean on God, He will confer upon you the only independence that you need – your liberation from the wiles of the devil.
Now, let’s return to the time of the Tower of Babel. What was the sin that the people were committing? It was the sin of ‘pride.’ Pride is the worship of, (making and idol of), yourself. In fact, it is one of the foundational pillars of all sin:
For all that is in the world – the lust and sensual craving of the flesh, and the lust and the longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things] – these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. 1 Jn. 2:16 AMP
Indeed, pride violates the first and second of the Ten Commandments because the prideful are making ‘gods’ of themselves.
Like any sin, pride creates a ‘disconnect’ with God:
And when they cry out, God does not answer because of their pride. Job 35:12 NLT
Again, like other sins, it leads to more sinful behavior:
In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted… Ps. 10:2 AMP
They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. Ps. 73:6 NLT
When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then comes dishonor and shame. But with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind. Pr. 11:2 AMP
Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Pr. 16:8 CSB
So, in addition to cutting ourselves off from God, (because we are too busy trying to be a god), pride entices us to take advantage of others, to engage in violence and smother ourselves in dishonor, as we travel a road headed for a self-induced destruction.
You’ll notice that God did not harm the would-be erectors of the tower of babel, but instead gave them a Love re-do, allowing them to start over, instead of drowning in their sin. Simultaneously, God was teaching them a little humility, to remind them of their need for Him. He’s keeping their love channels open so that they may get into right relationship with Him.
That’s the way He rolls. God shows you the way, and then He equips you for your journey:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; but acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Pr. 3:5, 6. NKJV
For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Pt. 1:3 AMP
Are you beginning to see how God shows us how to have the greatest life possible, by illuminating that which you must ‘prune’ from your existing persona? He shines His light into our darkness and calls us to make that leap of faith.
You can do that, because He will always provide His outstretched arms. Why would God be so relentless for your salvation?
Because God cherishes you…
Goodnight and God bless.
Rebellion and Mercy
The Bible tells about the next five generations of descendants from the line of Cain. No further mention is made of any more of them. Adam and Eve produced another son, Seth; and the Bible follows his line, which will eventually give rise to the incarnated Christ. Here, we will just consider the first ten generations of Seth’s descendants.
At the time of Seth’s tenth generation of descendants, the entire population on the earth had degraded into unrelenting sin – rebelling against God in every fathomable way:
The LORD saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. Gn. 6:5 AMP
The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence…for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Gn. 11, 12. NKJV
If all of humankind was in rebellion, it means that they had turned away from being led by their spirit – yielding instead to every desire of the flesh. The Bible gives us a crystal-clear picture of what the corruption of the flesh manifests:
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. Gal. 5:19 – 21. ESV
Not a pretty picture. Thus, the world was separated from its Creator. God could do nothing to change the hearts of humankind, because that would mean violating their free will, which He will not do.
God was crestfallen (Gn. 6:6), because He loved them. However, God cannot pardon those who will not change; He must let them fall victim to the consequences of their actions. Sadly, seeing no way out, because God cannot abide with sin, He decided to wipe humanity off the earth (Gn. 6:7).
Yet, God’s heart is so big, and He loves us so much, that He exercised His vast mercy to comb all of humanity, to see if He could find just one exception – one uncorrupted individual from which He could forge a new people. Fortuitously for us, God found eight: Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their son’s wives.
Noah was 500 years old when God called Him and commanded him to build an ark, which took him 120 years! How many times must Noah have had to explain his doings to an unbelieving populace? He would have been effectively preaching the word of God. In spite of their mockery, Noah remained faithful to his task:
By faith [with confidence in God and His word], Noah, being warned by God about events not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his family. By this [act of obedience] he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. Heb. 11:7 AMP
God then floods the world. Noah and his family and the animals survive, they disembark when the flood recedes, and begin to re-populate the earth. Praise God for His mercy!
To reiterate, why did God have to start over? Because of intentional, unrepentant, chronic sin. So, let us dig a little deeper into the nature of sin…
We make many mistakes over the course of our lifetimes. Every one of them has the potential to teach us something, be it the knowledge that a particular act is not a good thing to repeat, or, it can reveal the way to a better path.
Some mistakes bring severe consequences. Many of these include ‘sins,’ i.e. acts that are contrary to God’s ways. Jehovah never intended sin and its consequences to be part of His plan for you. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve blew that.
Every time that we turn away from the path that God sets for us, sin is waiting. We can however, with God’s help, turn away from sin, and instead pursue righteousness.
The glory of humankind manifests itself when they reach for the highest good; and in so doing, become a reflection of the glory of God, and glorifying Him as well.
Why is sin so deadly? First, sin is the opposite of love:
He who despises his neighbor sins [against God and his fellow man]… Pr. 14:21 AMP
To despise is to hate. Hate is the opposite of love. Thus, sin is the opposite of love. God is love; so, sin is contrary to God.
Our Creator is also a God of peace. Sin, on the other hand, is borne out of unchecked emotions. That is why He gives us this warning:
BE ANGRY [at sin – at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], YET DO NOT SIN; do not let your anger [cause you to shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]. Eph. 4:26, 27. AMP
We see then that prolonged, unexamined sin invites the author of them, Satan, into your life. Your welfare is not what he has in mind. What the devil is looking for, is to bring enslavement and death to his victims / followers:
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 1 Jn. 3:8 ESV
Do you not know that when you continuously offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)? Rm. 6:16 AMP
Sin never involves the sinner alone. They are always hurting someone else as well – be it another person, Jesus Christ, or Jehovah God.
We need to see and own the vile nature of sin, so that we can develop a godly aversion to these acts. How else can we minimize our practice of it?
1. Do not hang out with people who will not give up their willful sinning. Guilt by association is a real thing. Their sin will rub off on you.
2. Do not listen to that voice (ego) in your head for advice. You know that voice; it is the one that berates you.
3. Do your best to walk in God’s word.
4. Most importantly if you have sinned, go to God, and confess with a repentant heart:
“…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin…” 2 Chr. 7:14 NKJV
Jehovah God is the ultimate forgiver, who gave up the life of His only Son so that you can be made clean.
We will fall from time to time, that is human nature. Yet, God always has an outstretched hand to lift you back up. Why? So that He can cherish you…
Goodnight and God bless.