The Danger of Pride

Don't believe your own press reports!

Recently, while reading 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, I noticed that both Judean King Amaziah and his son King Uzziah started their reigns well, “doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chron 25:2; 26:4) but later, after initial successes, they became proud and suffered for it. 

First, Amaziah changed his battle plans in order to obey God and trust that the Lord would make up for his sending Israelite soldiers home with pay, then after defeating a smaller army of Edomites, he called out the King of Israel over atrocities committed by his spurned mercenaries. At that point, Jehoash [king of Israel] warned Amaziah [king of Judah] via a don't-get-too-big-for-your-britches kind of parable. His punch line is found in 2 Kings 14:10,

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“You have indeed struck down Edom, 

                   and your heart has lifted you up.

Be content with your glory, and stay at home, 

 for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, 

                         you and Judah with you?”

The northern kings were not known for speaking the truth, but this statement was startlingly insightful and accurate. However, Amaziah didn’t listen and attacked Israel anyway. He lost. In fact, Jehoash’s ravaging army tore down a large section of Jerusalem’s city wall and looted all the gold and silver furnishings from the Temple!

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What was it that changed? Where did it all go wrong for Amaziah? First, he didn’t serve the Lord “with a whole heart.” Secondly, after defeating the Edomites Amaziah did something very strange—he brought back the idols which he had captured and worshipped them. Such an act makes no sense. Since those idols had not been able to deliver Edom from Amaziah's own hand, why would he worship them? Probably because they were a symbol of his own accomplishment. If this was his reasoning, then it seems more like our behavior today where we glory in our perceived successes instead of in God’s past deliverances. How often do we memorialize our own victories and “worship” what we have taken from others? Such idolatry of the heart is rooted in pride.

Years later Amaziah’s 16-year-old son Uzziah (aka, Azariah) became king. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord… as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper” (2 Chron 26:4-5). He fought successfully against the Philistines and the Arabians while other nations opted to pay tribute to him. He strengthened and upgraded his army and fortified Jerusalem with towers and even installed ballistic machines of war upon them (v.11-15). But, then things changed... and 2 Chronicles 26:16-20 tells the tragic story,  

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. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 

Both father and son suffered for their own prideful mistakes. Despite initial trust in the Lord, albeit without a whole heart, they eventually trusted more in their own strength than in the Lord.

Uzziah was on the right path a bit longer, but then his heart became proud and he thought himself privileged enough to enter the Holy Place of the Temple and offer incense which only the priests were permitted to do. He presumed that he could approach God on his own merits if God even existed. When the valiant priests “withstood” him, instead of repenting Uzziah became angry, and when he became angry leprosy broke out on his forehead—an external manifestation of an inward spiritual condition.

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:12; see also Luke 14:11; 18:14; James 4:6,10; 1 Peter 5:5b-6)

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As pastors and Christian leaders, do we presume too much? Have we begun to believe that the Lord’s blessing is a result of our own competence and leadership skills? Do we think that we are entitled to recognition and being platformed above others? If so then we should remember that the Lord is faithful to tear down the idols we build to our own egos. Will we humble ourselves and become teachable again, or will we stiffen our necks and grow angry revealing our unclean hearts?

It seems that leprosy of the soul is far more prevalent today than that of the forehead, and so sadly it often goes untreated. Will you, along with the psalmist and me, ask the Lord to do his cleansing work inside and out?

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

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The Sanctified Naysayer (2 Chron 18:1- 20:30)

The following devotional post was initially written as a part of a men's Bible journaling group.

2 Chron. 18:4-7, 12-17 (also 1 Kings 22:10-51)

Ahab & Jehoshaphat

v.4-7 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” 

And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 

And the king of Israel [Ahab] said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” 

And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 

v.12-17 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”

But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”

And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” 

And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.”

But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 

And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 

There is a lot going on in this passage! 

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went off-script by joining the wicked king of Israel (Ahab) on a military campaign against Syrian forces. He asked Ahab to consult the Lord first. I find it interesting to consider why he did this. If he knew God’s Word, then he would not have had to ask if he should follow Ahab’s lead. Ahab whose profound wickedness was already under the prophetic judgment of God would not turn from his ways. He was a man who judged the "goodness" of a message by whether it said what he wanted to hear.

What do we do when the message of the Lord to us is not what we want to hear? Do we hate the messenger, or do we heed the warning of the God who loves us? Ahab hated the Word of the Lord and despite his schemes and disguise…he takes a random arrow but not to the knee. It pierced his breastplate. and he bled out at sunset facing his enemies. He didn’t even take the merciful time that remained to him to repent and turn back to the Lord. In contrast, Jehoshaphat, though an imperfect king, “cried out” to the Lord in his fear “and the Lord helped him; and God drew them away from him.” (v.31)

I am forced to consider the dangers of a politically compromised faith. What happens when the government speaks to the prophet or when the prophets are complicit with and merely rubber-stamping the policies of a wicked government? In this passage, all the other prophets spoke the lies that Ahab wanted to hear. Where was the dissenting voice of truth? What does this mean for my ministry? Am I vulnerable to being owned by the status quo, by the current of popular thought, or will I seek the counter-intuitive and inconvenient but invaluable word of the Lord before I make decisions and before I risk what he has entrusted to me? Jehoshaphat had the good sense to seek, ask, and knock. Ahab, once pushed, also demanded the truth… however, he didn’t heed it but rather tried to circumvent it via disguise and distraction.

As pastors, and Christian leaders, do we have a Micaiah who will speak to us honestly in the face of strategic plans and personal passions? 

Do we have a sanctified nay-sayer who has been given permission to speak freely? Someone who can tell us when we are listening to the wrong voices? I hope so.

This is one of the tenets of the Cupbearers Initiative. It may have become trendy to “speak truth to power,” but who do we allow to speak the truth to our power? For the sake of the Kingdom of God am I willing to be teachable to the prophetic word of the Lord?

So, if I am to "bring it home," let me ask, will we persist in what we want, asking God to bless our imperfect ideas and desires, or will we sincerely seek the counsel of God? Further, when God speaks, will I harden my heart or in humility acknowledge my dependence upon him? When was the last time I let God change my plans?

Persisting in poor leadership decisions (without, or in spite of, good counsel) might not be the end of our lives (like it was for ancient kings), but it might be the end of our ministry. Our lapses in judgment, deficiencies in discernment, and failures in follow-through may result in the loss of many people’s potentially joyful participation in the restorative work of the kingdom.

Allow me to share one last rather haunting thought. Ahab, even when mortally wounded, persisted in his rebellion, slowly bleeding out as the daylight faded with his chariot facing the Syrians instead of turning towards Jerusalem seeking to make peace with the One true Lord...  

“And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset, he died.” (v.34)

Some might say he was authentic, even brave, in refusing to repent. I call it stubbornly self-focused. Instead of making peace with the God who takes no delight in the death of the wicked, Ahab refused to repent. As it is written, 

“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" (Eze. 33:11)

Instead of Ahab finding personal peace in repentance, God provided some measure of national peace for Israel through the death of their wicked king. This was one case where “scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd” (v.16) was a good thing since their shepherd had been so evil. Each man could “return to his home in peace” instead of dying as pawns in Ahab’s wicked plans.

O, Lord, may our minds always seek your direction, and may our hearts heed your Word so that we might not fall for wicked appeals that would entice us from your goodness to follow a lie. May we not be persuaded to bend to the status quo just because everyone else is doing so. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear and soften our hearts to joyfully respond to your loving plan, and may it result in blessing for many, and may your shalom come upon us. Amen.

Nothing Better...Under the Sun (Ecclesiastes 2-3)

This week's Bible journal reading was from Ecclesiastes 1-6... and no, it wasn't meaningless! There is a time for that, just not now.

I have always said that Ecclesiastes shows us, King Solomon, as an ancient scientist writing in his "lab book" detailing the wearisome results of his experiments… trying to find out if there is meaning in life "under the sun" apart from a relationship with God. Here is a sampling of some of the verses that I read:

• 2:24-25 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
• 3:12-13 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
• 3:22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
• 8:15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

As you can see in the verses above, as I read the first six chapters of Ecclesiastes, I noticed the repeated phrase, “there is nothing better.” On closer examination, I was surprised to see that all were basically the same idea (with some poetic variation). Nothing is better than for a person…

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• To "eat, drink, and find enjoyment in their toil.” This enjoyment is “from God.” (2:24)
• “To be joyful and do good as long as they live” in parallel with “eat drink, and take pleasure in your toil.” (3:12)
• “That a man should rejoice in your work.” Our work is the place that has been allotted to us. (3:22)
• “To eat, drink, and be joyful” (8:15)

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How often are we satisfied, and content, with only our food and drink and the work we do? Solomon makes it clear that our response should be more than mere satisfaction, but a lifelong joy! I think about how our consumeristic society has convinced us that more gear equals greater happiness. Solomon robustly tested that theory and busted that myth. In fact, Ecclesiastes is like binge-watching some philosophical or world-view version of the popular TV show MythBusters. As we know, Solomon was resourced like no other person in history with the intellectual, financial, political, and spiritual means to seek for meaning apart from God, and in the end, he busted that myth as well (Ecc. 12:13).  

This idea echoes loudly in the New Testament. Is this wisdom from Solomon so different from John the Baptist’s answer to the soldiers’ questions about repentance,

“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14)?

Or the conclusion of St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians?

“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:11-14)

Consider also his surprising testimony to the Corinthians,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

The Tomb is Empty!

Moreover, the testimony of the early church was that they understood the wisdom of Solomon but without the fatalistic conclusions, he reached. What was different? They were witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! They knew that death “under the sun” was not the end and that in Christ there was no emptiness and no endless cycle of life and death. In Christ, there was a source of eternal life! They had been transformed by the love of Christ and lived with joy and gratitude even in the face of terrible oppression. As a result, not only were they glad for their provisions they shared what they had generously with each other!

And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:45-47)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

It should also come as no surprise that it doesn’t take the wealth of Solomon to buy that

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which satisfies us—Jesus paid the price for all that (1 Peter 1:18-19), and the Bible ends with an invitation from the Holy Spirit and the Church to share in this water of life,

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Rev. 22:17)

This fitting ending echoes and fulfills the prophetic poem in Isaiah 55:1-3,

“Come, everyone who thirsts,

    come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

    and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

    hear, that your soul may live…

Good words from Solomon’s “laboratory” for those of us engaged in Christian ministry! The more we are grateful for what we have been given (both the simple and the profound) the more insulated we will be against the embers of burnout that wants to send us up in smoke and the more inoculated we will be against the trauma of chronic disappointment that would weigh us down till we no longer participate in the restorative mission of God.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

A note about this blog: The Cupbearer's Initiative arose out of a Doctor of Ministry thesis project that outlined a theologically affective and Trinitarian approach to ministry. One such application was to participate in the spreading goodness of God by partnering with and encouraging pastors (and others engaged in Christian mission) through the struggles and the joys of their lifework. 

Hopefully, these articles and devotional posts are helpful to you.