Pride comes before…

The pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’

Obadiah 1:3

Let’s look at Obadiah’s background. There are thirteen Obadiah’s mentioned in the Bible and this prophet, also a minor prophet could have been any of them. From an officer to a teacher of the law, to an overseer of the temple repairs to a priest in the time of Nehemiah. He could have been any of them. The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly which Obadiah he was. We do know he was called to preach to the Edomites for their sin. They were the descendants of Esau, nicknamed Edom, which means “red” and probably because he had red hair. He was the son of Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob’s brother

Let’s look at the verse. Obadiah is preaching against the Edomites because they are filled with pride and it has deceived them. They boasted about their natural fortifications in the clefts of the rocks high in the mountains. They thought because their physical habitat was difficult to reach, they were invincible. A sure sign of pride.

So how does this verse correlate to our lives today?

Pride can be an insidious thing. It can manifest itself in anything in a person’s life. You name it, it can be a source of pride. The question is, what is the level of that pride. If the level of pride is so great that it affects our daily life and causes issues, then it’s time to take stock. So, what do we do about it?

Being aware of how much pride we have is the first step. If you recognize an area in your life where pride has not only taken root but has caused issues, then you are better able to combat it. If you cannot recognize the areas where pride has manifested itself or if that pride is sinful, asking God to show you where those areas are, is the best thing to do. Listening to God speak to you about it, will help you understand what needs to be done. Then ask God to help you exercise better control over it.

We are called not to be prideful, but to give God the glory for everything in our lives.  And there is something we can boast about, and that’s the cross of Jesus.

At one time my husband was very prideful in his job. That job and a few subsequent ones were taken away from him. He suffered some years until God showed him it was his pride that caused many of the job losses. It was a challenging lesson for him…and for me. But with God’s help, he recognized it and overcame it.