day no. 14,608: pride of heart deceives the head

Obadiah 1:2-4
"Behold, I will make you small among the nations; 
you shall be utterly despised. 
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, 
you who live in the clefts of the rock, 
in your lofty dwelling, 
who say in your heart, 
'Who will bring me down to the ground?'
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, 
though your nest is set among the stars, 
from there I will bring you down," 
declares the Lord.

God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. A prerequisite for salvation is confessing one's lowliness. Those who desire to make themselves big will be made small. The particular sting of humility forced upon the big-headed will be how small they are made. Pride of heart deceives the head. It convinces one to find the highest mountain one can summit and look down on all below. It persuades one to find security and safety in one's surroundings while entirely ignorant of one's ceilings - always looks around or below, but never above.

But two eternal facts elude the proud. God is above them beyond the sun and God came down and humbled Himself in the form of a servant. From that position He forever topples those perched on totem poles. There is no height one can ascend that reaches higher than His throne and there is no depth to which He did not descend in humility. Your self esteem is no security. You will be brought down more than a few notches. He will bring you down.