Proverbs
28:25 ¶ He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his
trust in the LORD shall be made fat.
Fat, depending on the context in which the word
is used, often (but not always) represents bounty, success, and an abundance of
blessings. Historically, human beings lived between times of feast and famine.
A person who was fat certainly had no lack.
Genesis 45:18 And take your father and your
households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of
Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Genesis 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be
fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Psalm 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat
and flourishing;
The proud heart, the arrogant, self-worshipping
fool, whether he be unbeliever or Christian, stirs up conflict as he or she
always places himself above everyone else. They are self-centered and gloating,
always thinking of themselves as above reproach, or THE manly one, or THE godly
woman.
The proud heart looks with contempt at all that
are around him, cannot permit contradiction or competition, and creates
disturbance to everyone and to himself. His family becomes a train wreck and
his life a misery for himself and others. The proud heart trusts in himself
only. But the one who trusts in the Lord shall be made abundant and bountiful
in blessings.
One of the many sins that are listed in the
first chapter of Romans as being the result of man worshipping the creature
rather than the Creator is pride.
Romans 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God,
despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
In the last days, in the church itself according
to the context, this will become and has become an issue.
2Timothy 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy,
Christians
are to put their trust in the Lord, not in themselves. The philosophy of Ralph
Waldo Emerson’s self-reliance, not dependent upon anyone, of being your own
person without caring one whit what others think or care about, Ayn Rand’s
religion of self, of going your own way, Thoreau’s marching to the beat of a
different drummer, etc. etc. are not Christian, but are pagan idolatry. We are
to depend on the Lord, His words are to be our final authority in all matters
of faith, practice, and doctrine. We depend on each other and live in a
Christian community of believers who are accountable to each other as well. If
you are proud and haughty of heart don’t expect to be blessed by God. Your lot
will always be strife, contention, and frustration.
1Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit
yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be
clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble.
Proverbs 28:26 ¶ He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool:
but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
I can remember in the 1970’s the mantra was all
about following your heart, doing your own thing, blah blah blah. It was the
battle cry of idiots. We have had generations of Christians who have trashed
their lives and hurt the lives of their children by replacing what is right and
what does God want me to do with how do I feel about this or that.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths.
There is a problem with the human heart, at
least the spiritual and emotional one we refer to when we talk about the seat
of our emotions and desires.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Your heart is not just wicked. It is desperately
wicked. It’s wicked in a way that a person is desperate when they are trapped
in a burning building. In some of the more horrible nightclub fires it’s been a
known fact that people trapped in a tangle of bodies will actually pull an
attempted rescuer in to his death, much like a drowning victim will drown an
attempted rescuer, in unthinking desperation. Your heart desperately craves
sin. It is of the flesh. Never follow your heart unless it is firmly in
Christ’s hands. Then you can follow Christ. I didn’t say “imitate” as in
pretend to be or mimic as some of the modern Bible perversions read but follow.
Seek not to imitate Him but to obey Him and to do things that He would want you
to do in the way He would want you to do them.
Walk wisely in Christ. Do not trust in your own
heart but put your trust in Christ’s heart. Deliverance from day-to-day sin or
even Hell does not come from following or trusting in your heart. It comes with
first trusting in Christ and then letting His word change you day by day.
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