Pride and Power Corrupt Our Hearts - I Chronicles 19-21 and John 8:1-27
David was a great king, and he led Israel to win many victories over their enemies. Evidently, he allowed himself to become proud, and the power went to his head. He ordered a census of the fighting men. Even Joab, who was not very spiritual, knew that this was a bad decision, but David insisted. Once the census was complete, God sent His punishment for David's sin. David threw himself on the mercy of God, and God did relent from His full punishment. Still, there were 70,000 men who died, because of David's sinful decision, which was caused by pride and power. I have often seen the same thing with Christians. They get a position at church, or they have some personal spiritual victories. Then, they allow the pride and/or the power to corrupt their hearts. They begin to make wrong decisions or have wrong attitudes, until they repent like David.
The Jewish leaders had fallen into the same trap in Jesus' day. When they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they were not truly seeking God's will. They were using their power to try to trap Jesus, so they could get rid of Him. He was telling them He was the Light of the world, but they could not see the light, because of their pride. They thought they were the only ones who knew the truth. They had blatant pride, because of their power and position. Most of us don't have that kind of pride and power. Sometimes, pride is subtle, especially for Christians, since we know pride is bad. However, we need to watch out for the attitude that we know everything, or at least, that we know more than others. That pride can corrupt our hearts and cause us to treat other people badly. It can cause us to think we are better than other people. Remember, we are to be servants and slaves, not masters. Jesus is the Master. The greatest ones in His kingdom are the servants of all. We can't be servants of all, when we are led by pride and power.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 22-24 and John 8:28-59.
The Jewish leaders had fallen into the same trap in Jesus' day. When they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they were not truly seeking God's will. They were using their power to try to trap Jesus, so they could get rid of Him. He was telling them He was the Light of the world, but they could not see the light, because of their pride. They thought they were the only ones who knew the truth. They had blatant pride, because of their power and position. Most of us don't have that kind of pride and power. Sometimes, pride is subtle, especially for Christians, since we know pride is bad. However, we need to watch out for the attitude that we know everything, or at least, that we know more than others. That pride can corrupt our hearts and cause us to treat other people badly. It can cause us to think we are better than other people. Remember, we are to be servants and slaves, not masters. Jesus is the Master. The greatest ones in His kingdom are the servants of all. We can't be servants of all, when we are led by pride and power.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 22-24 and John 8:28-59.