“Detoxing Pride”
SERMON Title: Heart Detox - Detoxing Pride
SCRIPTURE: 2 Chronicles 25 & 26
Passage
Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his ancestors. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:1-5, 16)
The Message
A life of transformation in Christ is oft accompanied by many facets of change by the power of Christ. You might think the issue of self-centredness is the worst of them all; or the sin of gluttony and self-indulgence; or the love of self-pity and self-condemnation. Across many bible scholars, underlying the manifestation of all these sins lies the ultimate sin of a justified love of oneself: pride.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud… If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. (C.S. Lewis)
Pride is an excessive preoccupation with self and one’s own importance, achievements, status, or possessions. (Mary Fairchild)
I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. (2 Cor 7:4)
But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour. (Gal 6:4)
There lies a fine line between pride which is honourable, glorious, and good as believers of Christ’s story. Then there is a type of pride that is excessively self-focused and self-exalting - seeking to steal honour and glory from God. This self-righteous and self-sufficient pride in seeking honour and glory to the self rids any dependency and need for God.
When pride comes, then comes shame… (Prov 11:2)
By pride comes nothing but strife… (Prov 13:10)
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Prov 16:18)
A man’s pride will bring him low… (Prov 29:23)
We look into the lives of two kings who were deemed successful by standards of the olden days yet both eventually fell to their destruction by clinging onto the pride of self. The first king, King Amaziah (2 Chr 25) ruled over Judah for 29 years. He brought much success to the people of Israel as their king yet his heart was not truly with the Lord (2 Chr 25:2). One of his big blunders was even though he obeyed the Lord’s plans in directing his army to victory (2 Chr 25:7-13), he chose to act as he pleased by leading his people into idolatrous worship of gods from another nation, against the Lord’s wishes.
When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them. The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?” (2 Chr 25:14-15)
We are similar to King Amaziah for in different areas of our lives, we turn and worship idols we believe will deliver us instead of the Almighty God. Even when confronted with a prophet sent by God, King Amaziah threatens God’s servant. We equally struggle to overcome the compulsion of consumption and security of this world rather than leaning onto Matt 6:33 (“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”). Pride causes us to numb our spiritual and common senses.
The second king, King Amaziah’s son, King Uzziah, initially chooses to seek the Lord and His counsel after taking the place of kingship after his father.
He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. (2 Chr 26:5)
But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. (2 Chr 26:16a)
However, his pride led him to grow in unfaithfulness to the Lord. Another symptom of pride’s clenches is that it shifts or distracts our gaze from seeking the Lord onto seeking the self first. When pride is left unresolved, it pushes us to cross the line to even do the unthinkable. Pride fills us with a false confidence to do what we want and fail to care about God’s plans or desires for us. Through our thoughtlessness, God is dishonoured. King Uzziah was a successful king similar to the ranks of King Solomon and King David, yet his last days were filled with anguish.
We may think we are different from the two kings of old.
You never thought you’d cheat on an exam or in a class.
You never thought you’d be unfaithful to your partner or spouse.
You never thought you’d consider unethical practices as an option.
You never thought you’d harbour guilt of criticism and guilt towards others.
We may not realize the internal dialogue we harbour: "I am the master of my life”. Our gaze and disposition has been set on seeking the self. If pride continues to grow, it will bring us to our destruction. It will continue to blind us from seeking Christ, who is our Saviour, our salvation, our closest friend, Father, and counsel.
The Lord’s call over each of our lives is for us to address this great sin of pride that is hindering His good work from being carried out in us. He is asking us to replace our pride with humility. A yearning to place others above and in front of us. To become humble people who not only appreciate God’s humility but also people who display it. People who elevate humility as a gift and essence of the self and pour it out with glory and honour for our God.
Sermon reflection questions
Do you struggle with pride? As you listened to this sermon, what popped into your mind as a deep-rooted pride issue in your heart?
Who in your life do you find it hardest to receive correction from, lower your pride in front of, and/or humble your attitude with? Are there particular situations where your tendency to be more or less prideful becomes exacerbated?
If you have identified a core part of you that is struggling with sin, what are you convicted to do in response?
Other resources
Seven Subtle Symptoms of Pride [https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/seven-subtle-symptoms-of-pride]
How Pride Poisons the Soul [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-pride-poisons-the-soul/]
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ (1 Cor 1:26-31)
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