“…As long as the king sought guidance from the LORD, God gave him success…
But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall…”
2 Chronicles 26:5, 16 NLT
Humility: Realizing you need help from others—you don’t know everything.
Pride: Thinking you need help from nobody—everyone is beneath you. Today’s verses paint two different pictures of one man with two opposing attitudes.
King Uzziah began his reign by doing what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight. He sought guidance from the LORD and GOD gave him success. Because Uzziah was humble, God helped him win many battles, his fame spread far and wide, and Uzziah became very powerful. (v. 8, 15)
“BUT when he became powerful, he also became proud.” Power and pride attract each other, but their teamwork almost always ends in destruction. How often have we watched the downfall of someone we admired, all because they became powerful and prideful?
King Uzziah became so proud that he even disregarded God’s holiness and took over the sacred duty of a priest! Then he raged in fury at the priests who tried to stop him, until leprosy broke out on his forehead. The formerly humble man became powerful, then became prideful, and then became isolated from everyone the rest of his life.
It was GOD who had blessed Uzziah with success and power because he humbly sought the Lord. Power, however, did not cause Uzziah’s downfall. It was his prideful attitude about the power!
“God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”
James 4:6
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