THE BEST LOOKING VEGGIES

Proverbs 16:18a - First pride, then the crash (MSG)

     It was a hot afternoon as Randy tried to start the lawn mower to mow the church yard.. As he pulled on the rope for the 50th time, John and Tracy walked up and Tracy was crying. “Hi” he said “Is something wrong?” “Oh,” John sighed in reply, “It’s been a rough day,” to which Tracy added “You can say that again” and of course John had to repeat himself “Oh,” he said, It’s been a rough day” to which Tracy shouted, “I didn’t mean literally.”

     “Oh, boy” thought Randy, “What’s wrong now.” and than John started to explain. “All summer Tracy’s been bragging about the veggies she was growing. Well, today we were out harvesting in the fields, and when we came to Tracy’s veggies they were the biggest best looking veggies I’d ever seen.” “Yeah,” Tracy piped in, “but looks aren’t everything”.

     “Carrots almost 3 inches across.”John continued his story, “Onions the size of softballs, heads of lettuce nearly 18 inches across, potatoes the size of footballs, and squash the size of basketballs .” “Are you sure you’re not exaggerating a bit?” Randy asked, but John kept right on talking, “I had to use my tractor with a lift on it to pick up the pumpkins and I still haven’t figured out what Tracy did to get them so big.” and on and on he went.

      “If all you say is true” Randy finally interrupted, “Why has it been such a rough day?” “Well,” John answered, “Not everything is as it seems.” to which Tracy added “You can say that again” and so John did, he said it again and got a “Daaaaaaad. Do you have to do that?” from Tracy

     After giving his daughter a funny look, John continued his story, “As I was saying,” he went on, “Not everything is as it seems. When we found all those veggies, Tracy grabbed up bunches of them and took off to the farmers market.” “Did she try to sell them?” Randy asked “No!” Johns replied, “And I’m glad she didn’t She took them to brag - She thought she was the best gardener around and no one could be better.” Upon hearing that, Tracy cried out “I was the best!”

     “You were?” questioned Randy “She thought she was,” John added, “Until she dropped one and it broke open.” but before John could finish, Tracy butted in crying out “They were rotten - Just like this day.” “Nothing like getting knocked off your high horse.” Randy laughed when he heard what had happened but Tracy just cried all the louder.

     “Proverbs 16:18 says Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Randy reminded them as he turned back to his lawn mower. “You can say that again.” Tracy blurted out and with out missing a beat Randy did and Tracy rolled her eyes and left. “That was great.” John said with a laugh, and headed after his daughter.

     In a certain pond on one of the farms in the East were two ducks and frog. Now these neighbors were the best of friends; all day long they used to play together. But as the hot summer days came, the pond began to dry up and soon there was such a little bit of water that they all realized that they would have to move. Now the ducks could easily fly to another place, but what about their friend the frog? Finally it was decided that they would put a stick in the bill of each duck, and then the frog would hang onto the stick with his mouth and they would fly him to another pond. And so they did. As they were flying, a farmer out in his field looked up and saw them and said, "Well, isn't that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it!" The frog said, "I did..." (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations)

     It could be called a group of lions but it could be better defined as the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself. (Oxford) or an unreasonable and excessive vie of one’s self-esteem (Webster) It is when one thinks higher than self than one should. What is it? It is Pride, another of the seven deadly sins.

     Let's look at some of the dangers of pride

• Unhealthy pride is a form of self deification. (Making ones self out to be god.)
  • 1 Peter 5:5 - Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (ESV) - Pride is in opposition to God
  • Proverbs 16:5 - The Lord hates those who are proud. They will surely be punished(NCV)
    • Pride is hated by God
    • Pride will be punished by God

• Pride is not user friendly
  • Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (ESV)
    • Pride brings destruction
    • Pride causes one to fall
  • Proverbs 29:23 - Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. (NLT)
    • Pride leads to humiliation
  • Proverbs 11:2 - Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (NLT)
    • Pride brings disgrace

• Pride sets us apart - it alienates us
  • Psalms 10:4 - The wicked people are too proud. They do not look for God; there is no room for God in their thoughts. (NCV)
    • Pride lures us into living independently of God. The proud person depends on self rather than on God
  • Not just from God
    • Pride distorts our view of our self and others - setting us apart
    • Pride blinds us to our own faults and magnifies the faults of others - setting us apart
    • When one makes mistakes - and we all do - the bragger is often left to his own.

      Pride, something we can live without. The opposite of pride is humility of which we have a great example to follow - Philippians 2:3-8 - When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves. Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others. In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything. But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit. But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death - death on a cross. (NCV)

     Here's Something to Ponder

• What are the things in your life that you boast about?
• How often does pride get you into trouble?