The Sin of Pride

 The Sin of Pride

One glaring fact arises from 1Kings 11-14, which is pride. God’s grace is given, but the recipient is ungrateful and even goes beyond to not offering thanks for victories. King Amaziah is an example of this very pointed fact. God had blessed him in achieving what no other king had done in defeating the Edomites. Instead of giving God credit, he tarnished the victory by taking the Edomite gods home. Later, in his pride, he challenged his neighbor to a fight. The king of Israel reminded him of this principle: Pro 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling, but he would not back down. 

God allowed the king of Israel to defeat Amaziah, took him prisoner, and tarnished the Temple by taking the rest of the gold, etc., home to Samaria. We are so slow to learn what is clear: if we take God’s glory for our own, He will bring us down. Isa 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give my glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.

How often do we forget these principles? How often do we usurp God’s glory and take it for ourselves? God exalts the humble, not the prideful.