Humility and Honor

Before honor is humility…Proverbs 18:12

Wisdom says: Before destruction of the heart of a man is haughty and before honor is humility. Wisdom which appears in Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is as though pride casts a shadow and we too often walk in it; a destructive darkness. Proverbs teaches us the truth God wants us to know and apply; not just memorize.

It is like teaching our children to obey. We want our children to trust us. We want them to know how much we love them. We want them to know our love for them leaves us no choice than to insist they do what we say. When we say, “buckle your seat belt” we don’t want them to say “why?” We want them to obey. Because we know things they don’t know. And we don’t want them to learn these truths the hard way. 

God is similar. God knows things we do not know. He loves us more than we can understand. Therefore, God desires that we love and obey Him. Because we are adults, God says, before destruction, the heart of a man is haughty. God does not want us to ask “why?” He wants to not be prideful. Because pride goes before a fall; every time!

Because we are adults, God gives us examples. The Bible has many examples of people who let their pride destroy them. Judas, David, and Nebuchadnezzar come to mind; also, Satan. Before Satan was a devil, he was an angel. Clearly God hates pride: before destruction the heart of a man is haughty. Pride causes a person to no longer trust God. Trusting God is faith. Faith is living in the light of God, not the darkness of pride.

God is holding up a mirror. He is asking, are you proud of yourself in all the wrong ways? Are you thinking, I am an adult. I don’t need God to hold my hand (or whatever)? Are you thinking wrongly, like a child?

Or, are you humbled by what you see? Remember, before honor is humility.