In The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis, a
senior devil urges his young protégé to divert a Christian’s thoughts away from
God and focus instead on the faults of the people around him at church.
During a Sunday service, I found myself distracted and somewhat annoyed
by a person near me who sang loudly off key and was out of sync during the
unison readings. But when we bowed our heads for a time of silent prayer, it
struck me that the Lord must surely be more pleased with that other person’s
heart than with the judgmental feelings He saw in mine.
A few days later I happened to read Proverbs 8 and was struck by verse
13: “Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”
Throughout this chapter, wisdom calls to us to gain an understanding heart
(v.5) and to find life and obtain favor from the Lord (v.35). The alternative
is to go through life with a superior attitude while dying inside in the
process (v.36).
Pride is a sword that wounds the person who uses it along with those
against whom it is used. Arrogance robs us of all God longs to give us, but “by
humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life” (22:4).
Pride brings shame. Humility brings wisdom. (RBC)
