When he [King Uzziah] had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar…as he was standing there raging at the priests…leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead. – 2 Chronicles 26: 16; 19.

Proverbs 16: 18 states:

Pride goes before destruction,

a haughty spirit before a fall.

And we see a perfect example of this “pride to downfall” phenomenon in King Uzziah’s story.

During his reign, God blessed King Uzziah with great honor, prestige, fame, and power because he was faithful and sought the Lord’s guidance.

But somewhere down the line, Uzziah became a bit delusional, and in his haughtiness, he egregiously broke the law.

God’s law specifically forbade anyone other than a designated priest to burn incense at the altar.

And even with over eighty priests on his tail trying to stop him, Uzziah burned the incense anyway.

Because he truly believed he was invincible.

And we have to be careful because like Uzziah, we too can be blinded by status or the positions God has placed us in.

It’s important to note that God favored Uzziah because for a long time, his heart was in the right place.

But there’s a fine line between humility and haughtiness.

The moment Uzziah believed himself to be “good” and “pure” in God’s sight, he unintentionally gave himself license to do whatever he wanted to do, be it right or wrong.

So whether we’re an elected official, a deacon or deaconess, a pastor, an ordained minister, a president of an organization, or anything else, we must understand that those titles don’t mean anything.

Because in God’s eyes, we all fall into one category and one category only: SINNERS.

What we must understand each and every day is that if it weren’t for the Lord sending His son Jesus to die for our sins, we would all perish.

So we have to maintain a posture of thanksgiving and recognize that we are only saved by God’s unfathomable love and grace.

Be blessed,

Alexia

Prayer: God, I know that Satan is always trying to trick me and trip me up, so I pray that you would shield my heart from pride and arrogance. Keep me in a space of true humility and don’t allow me to be fooled into believing that I’m better than others or that I’m not a sinner. Lord, keep my heart fixed in a posture that pleases you. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.