Proverbs 16:18
A Haughty spirit comes before a fall…but Pride precedes destruction!
We all remember the historic collision of the famous ship, Titanic, and the tragic result that ensued. The ship was utterly destroyed, causing the death of over fifteen hundred of its passengers. We can recall the pride of those ignorant statements made prior to, and during its voyage... "Titanic...the unsinkable ship...the ship that even God cannot sink." There is little doubt that the haughtiness of its creator, and the overconfidence of its captain, capitulated this tragic event!
However, this terrible tragedy could have been avoided. Several iceberg warnings were issued prior to the voyage, and several others were telegraphed by other ships traveling closely in the area. However, despite these warnings, the ship still plowed forward at maximum speed. The ironic thing is...that the iceberg was spotted prior to the collision...however, because of the size of the ship...and the speed at which it was traveling...it was unable to correct its course in time!
The above proverb is one which deals with those “ Titanic type" attitude issues, and every time that I look at this, I never cease to marvel at how clearly it appears to me that these spiritual dynamics play such a huge role in determining the specific outcomes of our lives. However, this particular admonition stands as a powerful warning to us as to what can transpire as a result of either our innocent ignorance of the issue, or our blatant disregard to it. There is no doubt that we are all susceptible to the uncontrollable tall-spins that can occur…when our eyes stray from our guiding instruments…and our lives get bumped off course. But even worse, if we completely let go of the control stick altogether, we will send our lives down a perilous trajectory...one whose end result can be fatal.
There are two particular interconnected dynamics that come into play in this proverb. First, there is the haughty attitude that precedes a fall. This is the first stage of this harmful process that merely begins to get the vessel going the wrong direction. It is a posture of “I don’t need guidance or instruction, and I don’t need to keep a steady and disciplined hand at the controls. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want…I am invincible.” If this attitude is not addressed and corrected, it can very quickly change its face into a much more destructive force called pride. Pride is when the ship cannot be turned without having some sort of collision. Pride is when actions have gone too far to mend. Pride is utterly blind to its dire position. Pride comes before loss of reputation, divorce, business failures, drug overdose, car accidents, and yes, even death.
However, we can right our ship. We can pull ourselves out of this seemingly uncontrollable dilemma, if we can correct our attitudes, open our eyes to truth, once again grab a hold of the control stick of discipline, and finally set our focus and trust back onto the fail-proof instruments that can guide our lives back to stability.
The most important instrument in our vessel is our personal relationship with God himself. Never underestimate the power of prayerful conversations with the Almighty. Secondly, God has passed down throughout all of history written truths found in the Bible. Read it, study it, and weigh your life against it on a daily basis, and your life will never get off course.