sokin's devotional 82 - pride and anger
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. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, 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." Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense.
2 Chronicles 26:16-19
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It's interesting what good circumstances can do to a person.
Uzziah was receiving favor from God and was finding great success on the battle field. He fortified the city of Jerusalem and his "fame spread far" into the world.
But as his fame and strength grew, so did his pride, which is what brought about his downfall.
Pride is a tricky thing, but so is sin in general. Sin has an ability to trickle into our lives in areas we least expect it. It has a knack for making good things into bad things because we try to make it a god-thing, an ultimate thing.
The tiniest drop of poison will ruin a bucket of water.
Uzziah went to do a "good thing" - he went to burn incense to the Lord. But, his good intentions were done in the wrong way. Burning incense to the Lord was only reserved for the consecrated priests of God to do.
Uzziah might've had a chance here to repent and turn from his sin but he ended up doing the exact opposite. Sin further clouded his judgment and his pride puffed him up to such a degree that the simple rebuke and reminder from the priests resulted in him harboring anger.
Anger at being told what to do. Anger at being called out. Anger at not being able to do what he thought was best...
And bam, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
I've definitely been in that situation where when someone calls me out, I absolutely hate it. But especially when you know they are right... oh, that we might be sober-minded and quickly turn to repent for our ways!
Easier said than done, but things that must be done, should be done.
When Jesus was told to go to the Cross by the God, he didn't respond with anger but with humble submission. He went to the cross, although he didn't have to, and paid the price for our sin. Unlike Uzziah, Jesus modeled the way in which we must be obedient to the Father's will no matter what it might be.
Consider:
- What good things have I made into bad things?
- What is my usual response towards rebuke and why is that the case? What sinful attitude may I be harboring?
- How can I be more like Jesus in my response to correction and direction, and less like Uzziah?
2 Chronicles 26:16-19
---
It's interesting what good circumstances can do to a person.
Uzziah was receiving favor from God and was finding great success on the battle field. He fortified the city of Jerusalem and his "fame spread far" into the world.
But as his fame and strength grew, so did his pride, which is what brought about his downfall.
Pride is a tricky thing, but so is sin in general. Sin has an ability to trickle into our lives in areas we least expect it. It has a knack for making good things into bad things because we try to make it a god-thing, an ultimate thing.
The tiniest drop of poison will ruin a bucket of water.
Uzziah went to do a "good thing" - he went to burn incense to the Lord. But, his good intentions were done in the wrong way. Burning incense to the Lord was only reserved for the consecrated priests of God to do.
Uzziah might've had a chance here to repent and turn from his sin but he ended up doing the exact opposite. Sin further clouded his judgment and his pride puffed him up to such a degree that the simple rebuke and reminder from the priests resulted in him harboring anger.
Anger at being told what to do. Anger at being called out. Anger at not being able to do what he thought was best...
And bam, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
I've definitely been in that situation where when someone calls me out, I absolutely hate it. But especially when you know they are right... oh, that we might be sober-minded and quickly turn to repent for our ways!
Easier said than done, but things that must be done, should be done.
When Jesus was told to go to the Cross by the God, he didn't respond with anger but with humble submission. He went to the cross, although he didn't have to, and paid the price for our sin. Unlike Uzziah, Jesus modeled the way in which we must be obedient to the Father's will no matter what it might be.
Consider:
- What good things have I made into bad things?
- What is my usual response towards rebuke and why is that the case? What sinful attitude may I be harboring?
- How can I be more like Jesus in my response to correction and direction, and less like Uzziah?
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