Theme: SELF APPRAISAL
Text: “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD” – Obadiah 3, 4.
Comment: Pride is a factor that can militate against self-appraisal. It is a vice that lifts up the heart of a man and makes him to have an exaggerated opinion of himself. This feeling of self-importance makes one to look down on others and does not allow one to assess himself objectively. In the end, it destroys him. Pride originated from ‘Lucifer, son of the morning, the anointed cherub that covereth’. His heart was lifted up, and he thought that he would rise above the stars of God and be like the MOST HIGH. (Isaiah 14: 12-14; Ezekiel 28: 12-15; 2 Thessalonians 2: 3,4). Today Lucifer – now the Dragon, Serpent, Devil and Satan – weakens the nations, and makes them stubborn against the worship of the True God. One of the potent tools that he is using is ‘PRIDE’. – 1 John 2: 16.
Pride is a virus that worshippers of God must guard against because it spreads fast and holds fast its captive, till it destroys him. Of the seven things that are abominable in the sight of God Almighty, PRIDE is the first mentioned by king Solomon (Proverbs 6: 16-19) Saint Paul admonished, ‘For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.’ – Romans 12: 3; Ephesians 4: 7; etc.