Pride Comes Before a Fall

written by Michaelene Doyle

Proverbs 16:18 (ESV) Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

I have been teaching a Sunday School class for teenage boys. For several weeks, we studied some wisdom from J.C. Ryle’s book Thoughts for Young Men. Before we began the series, we all guessed what the five dangers of young men could be. It was very interesting to hear what these young men (some of them are my own sons) had to say throughout the series. It was also interesting to see the dynamics of my classroom, which changed, depending on who was in class that day. I did buy a version of the book (originally published in 1865), so I may have more to write later. J.C. Ryle was a Church of England bishop and prolific writer of the 19th century. His writings all integrate the Bible, and many are still read today.

                One of the dangers of young men is Pride. The definition found in the American Heritage Dictionary: pride is a noun meaning “Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.” Growing up, I was taught to be proud of my achievements and accomplishments. For years, I didn’t see anything wrong with that. I always knew that boasting was wrong, but being proud of myself was still the right feeling to have. Now that I have been studying the Scriptures, I can see that pride is a problem I have, not a virtue.

                Adam and Eve thought they knew better than God, so they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the only one in the Garden of Eden that they were forbidden to eat the fruit of. Yes, the serpent tempted Eve with it, but it probably did not take much convincing. The account of their conversation in Genesis is fairly short. This one bad judgment by both Eve and Adam led them to more sins (blaming, lying, etc.).

                The people who built the Tower of Babel were pretty proud of themselves. They wanted to see what they could do with their own hands and let everyone marvel at their work. God saw what they did, so He confused them all. I don’t think it was the Tower that was the problem, but the people’s self-glorification that was. They were trying to leave God out of their work. Much later, when the Temple is being built, it is ordained by God. He gave them the plans, the skills, the workers, the king. God is in the whole thing, and it was built for Him and His people to come together.

                Read Proverbs seriously. I do not understand all references, but I do understand that if I think I am too good for something, I am NOT. I have read the Bible several times, and there is still so much I do not understand. That must mean I still need to read it, study it, discuss it, pray to God about it. There’s no shame in that.

Genesis 11: 1-9:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built .And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.”  So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.