Pride

November 25, 2019

Breathtaking in its beauty, this particular diamond sparkled, its refracted light shimmering hues of red, violet, yellow, and green. This one above all the others in the king’s treasury was the centerpiece, reflecting the skill of the cleaver, each facet perfect in form, with no imperfection marring its magnificence. But it was a mere stone, shiny, but hard and cold. It had no life or light of its own, able only to reflect that which was shone upon it. Apart from that external light, it was no different than the other stones; only harder.

Isaiah tells of Lucifer, the crown of God’s creation, beautiful in splendor, perfect in every way...until. Until the day his beauty caught his own eye and he decided he could match the glory of God himself. Before that fateful day, Lucifer—the Morning Star, sang duets with Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God (Job 38:7). But singing harmony was not enough; he wanted the lead, the solo part, and his pride caused his downfall. 

The wicked queen of Snow White fame gazed into the magic mirror asking who was the fairest of all, believing it to be herself. Surface beauty masked the ugliness within until it could no longer hide the truth. Pride is the mirror by which we deceive ourselves. It can conceive of no rival for its self-indulgence. But the stone is but a stone, without life, and apart from the Light of Christ, is merely dark and cold and hard. 

There is a mirror that reflects the Truth, revealing ourselves as we really are rather than how we perceive ourselves. That mirror is the Word of God that convicts, but also converts, forgives, corrects, and heals. Last night came the conviction; tonight begins the hard work of listening to Scripture that renews my mind till I am transformed. For that Scripture I am grateful; it is God’s instrument of grace and hope for this old sinner.