WHAT GOES UP . . ..

Proverbs 18:12 KJV
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
And before honour is humility.

This proverb also link with the previous one. It is haughtiness and pride that makes a man trust in his own wealth for refuge. Self-sufficiency provides for and feeds our inner wicked need for control and independence.

Evidence abounds that testifies to the building of man’s character while in time of need. The present recession has caused many to change their lifestyle. People pool resources together, barter, save, learn to repair, humble themselves by asking for help, rearrange priorities and have to be nicer to each other simply because they need each other more. Need has a strange way of bringing out the human being in us.

On the other hand, one who is self-sufficient feels that he can afford to be proud arrogant, haughty, judgmental and independent. Little does he know that like gravity, which ordains that whatever goes up must come down, his attitude has a natural bent for destruction. It is like the old saying about the whale: it is when she ‘blows’ that she harpooned!

We as humans are people of community. We need each other. May we learn to recognize when we have come to a point in our life when we’ve attained such s level of independence and self-sufficiency that we feel we can afford to be proud and arrogant with others.

By the way, these same principles that define godliness as people individually, also apply corporately for nations.