The Sin of Pride and the Weapon of Worship

With a Tribute to Our God

for the Life of Eleanor Horine

Pride is that last undefeated foe at the end of each journey of spiritual success. He greets us as a familiar friend celebrating our return and inviting us to a feast in our honor. Then when our hearts are filled with the wine and song of our self-celebration, he sneaks up from behind and stabs us in the back, stealing away our inheritance and the spoils of our heavenly rewards. For "pride goes before the fall and the haughty spirit before destruction."

We must not allow him to catch us off guard time and time again but should anticipate his attack and meet him with the weapon of worship. Like Noah, we must prepare a sacrifice of praise. For when he left the ark he did not turn back and praise himself for the ark which he had built with his own hands. Rather he built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed a burnt offering, giving God the glory for his deliverance, and the Lord blessed man with a promise because of His pleasure with Noah's offering. Let us feast on the Bread of Life and the Living Water from the Everlasting Fountain rather than the slop of self-aggrandizement, and let us secure our heavenly reward by defeating this treacherous fiend. We must meet pride with the weapon of worship.

Ironically, while I was thinking about pride when I wrote the paragraphs above, I discovered that I was thinking prideful thoughts and that I was being tempted with pride. I was proud of my insights about pride and looking forward to the praise I might receive when others had read my reflections. That is just what Pride is like. He is sneaky. He creeps up upon us when we least expect it and disguises himself as righteousness, or spiritual giftedness, or even as humility. When we begin to feel good about ourselves for any of these things, we are committing the sin of pride. Our focus must immediately shift from self and self-accomplishment to God and His gracious accomplishments in us and in others. " Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!"

I attended a funeral yesterday of a woman who accomplished great things for God. Her name was Eleanor Horine. I did not have the pleasure of knowing her well, but I do remember her warmth and kindness from my limited interactions with her. This dear, godly lady was 86 when she died. In her last 15 years, she raised over $50,000 for the Pregnancy Resource Center in Bloomington, IL to save the lives of the unborn. She left a legacy of godliness to her family, including 22 grandchildren, if I remember correctly, and several great-grandchildren. What impacted me most about her funeral was not what she had accomplished in her life-time, nor how many present, family and friends, held her in such high regard but the song she chose to be played at the end of her own funeral--The Hallelujah Chorus.

When I stood with all who surrounded me as the familiar yet majestic anthem resounded and Eleanor's casket was rolled out, I could not hold back the tears. I was overwhelmed with the realization that I was not standing for Eleanor. I was standing for her Lord and King, who accomplished so much in and through her. All the glory for all the wonderful things she had done in her lifetime belonged to him. I believe Eleanor chose this song for the end of her own funeral for this reason. She wanted to redirect the attention of her family and friends from herself to God. She wanted the glory to go to her Lord because she knew that He deserved it, and she delighted in His receiving it. I don't know how much Eleanor struggled with the temptation of pride in her lifetime. I know we all struggle with it to different extents, but I know that in Christ, Eleanor defeated any temptation of pride in the end with the weapon of worship. May our desire be as Eleanor's. May we delight in giving all of the glory for anything good in us to the one who alone deserves it. "Hallelujah, for the LORD God, Omnipotent reigneth . . . the kingdom of our God and of His Christ . . . and He shall reign forever and ever."