12 How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,
who overthrew its cities
and would not let his captives go home?” Isaiah 14:12-17
Have you ever been skydiving? Pastor Mike was featured in the opening video of VBS this year with his face superimposed over a wing-suited skydiver, and it got me thinking. It takes a lot of trust and confidence to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Trust in parachutes and those who prepare them. I’ve never done it (yet) but maybe someday? What little I know about the sport is that there are very strict rules and procedures that must be followed. No room for arrogant, hot-shot, corner cutting freelancers.
Skydiving got me thinking about the saying – “Pride goes before the fall…” This saying comes from Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” Although haughty isn’t a word we hear much anymore, we certainly see it in the world today. People are said to be haughty when they display an arrogantly superior and disdainful attitude toward others. It’s an expression of contempt for someone or something as being unworthy or inferior to themselves. Pride and haughtiness go hand in hand.
More people are ruined by pride than just about anything else. Adam and Eve wanted to be equal to God and it’s been a free fall ever since. Whenever we contemplate that our own talents, abilities, intelligence, wealth, plans, etc., are equal or more important than what God says, we’re headed for the ground, and fast! And while we’re falling it may feel like we’re flying, but remember, it’s not the fall that will kill us, it’s the sudden stop at the end.
In our daily Bible reading for today, Isaiah 14: 12-17 is pointing to a particularly haughty and arrogant ruler in his time. So arrogant, in fact, that he thinks he should be on the same level of importance as God himself. Isaiah’s words of warning echo to us in today’s world where we see the consequences of vain contempt for others and the pursuit of worldly power and fame. We shake our heads at how people in positions of power get caught up in their own selfish ambitions that end up having disastrous consequences for themselves, the world, and the people living in it. Sometimes we’re shocked to see when these worldly powers stumble, crumble, and fall because we may have bought into the notion that it’s worldly power that controls the things that matter most. When these “high and mighty” experience a setback or consequence, then we can fall into the very haughtiness and pride we so recently condemned in them, or we can begin to fear that we’re also vulnerable to their fate.
That’s why it’s important to read, know, and live out God’s Word in our lives. It’s good to remember what Paul writes in Romans 3:23-24 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”
We’re all falling. A parachute can rescue us only if we open it. And some specialized parachutes are designed to ride the wind and give an extended view of creation that brings awe and wonder, peace, joy, and inspiration! Jesus is like that. Jesus can take on our sin and defeat it. He can slow us down and keep us from falling further and then restore us to new life. He gives us wings to soar on and a chance to view the world in new and wonderous ways. We can trust him and no matter how far we’ve fallen, all we have to do is open our hearts to him.
Questions for reflection:
- What has my own pride cost or put at risk?
- When I’m grateful for the gifts and talents that I’ve been given, do I seek to use them for God’s glory?
- How can I open myself even more to the life God has planned for me?