Obadiah 3:4 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer[a]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week and give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9 – 14
Sometimes when I worship in public settings, I am aware that others may be watching. Then, although I am worshipping with outstretched hands, I wonder, “Can they tell I just got a fresh manicure? Or “Can they see the flab on my backside.” Yes, it’s true, I drift away from the holy to the carnal. I am concerned about “how” I appear to those around me. Few of us would admit we are concerned about things like this, even in the throes of tears and holy postures. Still, if we are tuned in, God will show us our hearts before Him; sometimes, it is shameful!
But pride doesn’t just go before the fall; pride IS the fall! (Proverbs 16:18) We wouldn’t dare walk forward and admit that we truly need God’s favor, mercy, and grace. We dare not allow those around us to know that we are human and struggle with pain, depression, addictions, or (gasp!) a secret sin! So there, so often, the front of the altar remains empty, blank, pleadingly sad, while mere steps away, God’s beloved stand like prisoners of war behind the false fence of pride. Spiritual refugees, in need of grace, sufficient, but apparently, not free. It costs humility, death to self, and surrender. It demands that we pay regardless of the audience, the reasoning of our mind, or the pull of vanity that tacks our feet to the floor of safe religion.
In some portions of everyone’s life, there is a want, a need, a desire. Everyone who stands behind that invisible line called false pride wants to break free in some hidden or visible area of their life. Yet, we stand here, self-sufficient, self-assured, and aloof, as if only weak people go to the altar. News Flash – we are all weak! Christ didn’t come to rescue those who could make this journey on their own or who had achieved perfection without Him. He came for those who stumble, those who fail time and again, who are degenerate, wounded in heart and spirit, those who are weary, broke, busted, and disgusted; you know that person – maybe it’s you. Pride deceives our eyes as we glance around the room – am I the ONLY one who needs God? Who cares? Be the only one if that is necessary. We stand alone before ABBA; He never was into crowds and majorities.
2 Corinthians 5:10, 12 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Therefore, we try to persuade men since we know what it means to fear the Lord. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is also clear to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart.”
If we can find no earthly reason to approach the altar, perhaps we should remember the great sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that even allows us to stand in our pomposity and creep up with thanksgiving.