Proverbs Chapter 29

Proverbs 29:23 (ESV) "One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor."

Back in the early 90's there was a huge tree in our front yard. It was probably 70 feet tall and about 2 feet in diameter. When it was alive with leaves it would have been a beautiful tree but now it was dead and leaf-less and needed to come down. I pulled out my little Home-lite chainsaw and cut it down. This was probably not the smartest thing I had ever done, in fact, it was downright foolish. The tree eventually did come down where I planned and thankfully I was not killed in the process. This is definitely a story of "how-not-to" cut down a tree. It is also a story that illustrates the point of Proverbs 29:23. And that point is the destructive nature of pride in the human heart.

If one could rank the sins of mankind in order of how destructive each sin is, then pride would have to rank close to if not on the top of that list. At some point in life, every human being is affected by the sin of pride. Pride is the appointment of self above all else. It’s all about "me" and "I". I strive for what "I" want. I seek that which makes "me" feel good. I make sure everyone knows how good "I" am and sees what "I" can do. For a time self can even get by with this "me" attitude. The problem is pride does not nourish my inner being. There is no real, lasting fruit. No leaves. No life. Eventually all that ‘I’ push so hard for and fight for will turn against me. The pride that I walked with pulls out the chainsaw and cuts me down. It doesn’t matter how big I get or how strong I am, pride will bring me down. It lifts me up with promise of glory, fame or strength and then knocks me off the pedestal.

The trick to not getting knocked off is to stay off the pedestal in the first place. We must learn the truth of the second part of Proverbs 29:23. We will obtain honor through humility. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian life. When we seek honor in our pride we are brought down but when we live in humility we will obtain honor. The outward result of both parts of this verse are similar. Lowliness is the end result of both the proud and the humble. The difference is that the proud are brought to lowliness against their will while the humble live in lowliness. The proud man seeks honor and may have it for a time but it is short-lived and unsatisfying. The humble man seeks only to serve others. Self is given the back seat of importance. When he strives for anything it is for the purpose of helping and serving those around him.

For a Christian to live a truly fulfilled life we must learn this paradoxical truth. We will be in a low estate one way or another. We can seek self-fulfillment and honor. We can lift ourselves up to fame, honor and glory. We can make sure everyone around us knows how good we are. We can live in our pride and be brought low or we can live low. Our Savior is THE perfect example of a humble servant. He had the power. He had the glory. He had the strength. He had it all yet gave it up to live a humble life among us. He was the King yet became the servant. Let us live the Christ-like, Christian life. Let us live in lowliness and humility. Then an only then will we obtain honor.