Upside-Down Wisdom

Upside- Down Wisdom
by Jason Cruise

Almost every chapter in the book of Proverbs contains some sort of warning against arrogance or pride. It's mind boggling, really. 

Every. Single. Chapter. Something is said about pride, or arrogance, or a stubborn heart that is easily deceived. Whatever you want to call it, the truth is that a man who is proud is a man in danger. Tangible danger.

The ironic mind warp in this is that pride in yourself, and taking pride in your work, is drilled into your heart from the earliest days of childhood. Pride is how life is supposed to work in the marketplace. Pride is supposed to drive a man's ethic. Pride is what is part of every man's foundation to push him to high standards.

So run that against God's standard and you see that pride, and the need for it, springs from the upside down wisdom of a dying world. Humility, not pride, is the marrow needed for success as God would define it.

Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life. - Proverbs 22:4

Riches. Honor. Life: a trifecta that pop culture would say comes from hard work and a self-made man who is bent on making a name for himself. Yet true riches, bestowed honor, and lasting life do not come from pride, they come from a heart that God can still coach. 

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