There was a time when I would read the Old Testament and would smirk at how the Israelites would stumble and fall. Today, I realize no matter who we are, we all must take care to see whether we stand or fall. The Apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 10.
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV)
Paul warned us that we are no better than anyone else. If God was with the Israelites in the wilderness, if He gave them everything they needed to survive, and yet they still made mistakes of unfaithfulness and sin, what makes us think they would be any different.
Pride blinds us from seeing potential trouble. It makes us believe we can do no wrong. Then when our sins are exposed, it keeps us from admitting we messed up. It happened to King David, and the scriptures say he was a man after God’s own heart. What makes us think it couldn’t happen to us?
When I am at a factory, there are signs everywhere that remind me of hazards. There are potentials to slip, trip, and fall on every factory floor. The person who thinks it will never happen to them is the one most likely to end up in the emergency room.
We don’t avoid slipping hazards by thinking it will never happen to us. Every factory employee knows slips, trips, and falls can happen anywhere if they aren’t paying attention. Pride comes before a fall.
On this Sunday morning, I plan to take a time of self-examination. What am I not seeing that could be potential trouble? Am I looking down on someone that is no worse than me? Could it be that their fall is a warning to me?
We may think we are standing when in reality, we may be on the ground in the muck of the gutter. It’s very sobering to remind myself that there are slip and trip hazards all around us.
