It's a familiar enough trope that it's been seen in literature time and time again. Someone tells the hero to go right, but he goes left anyway. Someone tells a person not to do something, and they go ahead regardless.
Take, for example, Lief from Deltora Quest. Tom warns him ahead of time that he will reach a fork in the road, and that he should, regardless of destination or intention, take the right fork. Lief, however, is certain that Tom knows nothing about his control over his steeds and his self-prowress (he thought that whatever was on that road, he could defend himself from it), and that he DEFINITELY wouldn't get lost.
Less than a minute after taking the left fork, his steeds bolt, and Lief is thrown from his, learning painfully that the left fork was full of orchard of fruit that caused his steeds to go crazy.
What did Lief do wrong?
He was self-assured, he was proud, and he felt he had no need to listen to anyone.
Pride can, oft as not, be the root cause of sin, and a huge barrier between a person and God. A prideful human feels no need to humble himself before the Creator or to beg forgiveness, because he feels he has no need for it- he thinks, like Lief, that he can defend himself from whatever might pop out to "get him." A prideful person believes that listening to advice is not only unnecessary, but foolhardy, because he knows best. However, all that's really happening is that he's setting himself up for a fall.
Let's look at Matthew 26: 33-35 for an illustration of this. The scene is well-known: Jesus is at the table of the Last Supper, and he speaks of the coming hours, telling the disciples they will all fall away. "Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same."
The main point I want to make with this verse is that Peter felt Jesus was incorrect. Although Peter does not outright say, 'Pssht, that's ridiculous!', he does retort that what Jesus said would never happen. In other words, Peter was convinced that he knew himself better than Jesus did, and that he could do better than Jesus thought, proclaiming that he would never deny Christ. Unfortunately, the rest of the story is infamous; Peter does deny Jesus, exactly as He said he would. Peter was proud, and Peter learned first-hand that it did not work.
Another example is Paul; when he was called Saul, he was convinced that God was on his side and that the Christians were all deluded cultists. He thought that he was in the right, and that his righteousness allowed him to punish the heretics.
Being proud essentially puts you on your own, and because you chose it to boot. Because a prideful person would tack up all their accomplishments to themselves and God, they're not going to turn to Him. Then, when hard times hit, they find themselves at a loss. Human nature is fallible. Human nature is corrupted. Resisting sin alone is never going to work out- we need God to lead us from temptation, and we need God as a rock to stand on when storms draw near. Take the foundation away, and the house collapses, we get blown away in the wind, we lose our grip.
That's why pride and self-assuredness is such an obstacle- because it says to God that we know better, that we don't need him. Whether it's fear or misplaced righteousness, our confidence should not be in ourselves, but in Him.
P.S. This is the first theological piece I've written in a while, so I'm sorry if it's not quite up to par as the others; I've just had this on my mind for a while and thought I'd share it.
It's a familiar enough trope that it's been seen in literature time and time again. Someone tells the hero to go right, but he goes left anyway. Someone tells a person not to do something, and they go ahead regardless.
Take, for example, Lief from Deltora Quest. Tom warns him ahead of time that he will reach a fork in the road, and that he should, regardless of destination or intention, take the right fork. Lief, however, is certain that Tom knows nothing about his control over his steeds and his self-prowress (he thought that whatever was on that road, he could defend himself from it), and that he DEFINITELY wouldn't get lost.
Less than a minute after taking the left fork, his steeds bolt, and Lief is thrown from his, learning painfully that the left fork was full of orchard of fruit that caused his steeds to go crazy.
What did Lief do wrong?
He was self-assured, he was proud, and he felt he had no need to listen to anyone.
Pride can, oft as not, be the root cause of sin, and a huge barrier between a person and God. A prideful human feels no need to humble himself before the Creator or to beg forgiveness, because he feels he has no need for it- he thinks, like Lief, that he can defend himself from whatever might pop out to "get him." A prideful person believes that listening to advice is not only unnecessary, but foolhardy, because he knows best. However, all that's really happening is that he's setting himself up for a fall.
Let's look at Matthew 26: 33-35 for an illustration of this. The scene is well-known: Jesus is at the table of the Last Supper, and he speaks of the coming hours, telling the disciples they will all fall away. "Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same."
The main point I want to make with this verse is that Peter felt Jesus was incorrect. Although Peter does not outright say, 'Pssht, that's ridiculous!', he does retort that what Jesus said would never happen. In other words, Peter was convinced that he knew himself better than Jesus did, and that he could do better than Jesus thought, proclaiming that he would never deny Christ. Unfortunately, the rest of the story is infamous; Peter does deny Jesus, exactly as He said he would. Peter was proud, and Peter learned first-hand that it did not work.
Another example is Paul; when he was called Saul, he was convinced that God was on his side and that the Christians were all deluded cultists. He thought that he was in the right, and that his righteousness allowed him to punish the heretics.
Being proud essentially puts you on your own, and because you chose it to boot. Because a prideful person would tack up all their accomplishments to themselves and God, they're not going to turn to Him. Then, when hard times hit, they find themselves at a loss. Human nature is fallible. Human nature is corrupted. Resisting sin alone is never going to work out- we need God to lead us from temptation, and we need God as a rock to stand on when storms draw near. Take the foundation away, and the house collapses, we get blown away in the wind, we lose our grip.
That's why pride and self-assuredness is such an obstacle- because it says to God that we know better, that we don't need him. Whether it's fear or misplaced righteousness, our confidence should not be in ourselves, but in Him.
P.S. This is the first theological piece I've written in a while, so I'm sorry if it's not quite up to par as the others; I've just had this on my mind for a while and thought I'd share it.
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