pride?

 

This was posted by the President of the United States of America:

 

"America is a nation of pride."

How utterly horrifying and how terribly sad at the same time... the President of the United States standing up and declaring our nation's full support of something so blatantly against God's plan.

Scripture is far from supportive of pride as a character trait:

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God." (Psalm 10:4) 

"The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
    Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Pride goes before destruction,
    a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:5 & 18)

"The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
    and human pride brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day." (Isaiah 2:11)

"I will punish the world for its evil,
    the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
    and will humble the pride of the ruthless." (Isaiah 13:11)

"Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
    Against the Holy One of Israel!" (Isaiah 37:23)

Now, add to that the "pride" being supported and pushed down our throats by the media and the world: LGBTQIA+ (there are probably other letters/numbers that have been added, I don't know).

I don't believe in coincidence, whether you're talking about good things that happen or bad things, so I don't think it was a coincidence that the rainbow was chosen for the flag to represent this group.

Satan's best method of deception is to take God's truth and twist it. In this case, he has taken the rainbow--the sign God set as a reminder of His promise, the sign of His hope--and twisted it to represent something God is undoubtedly against.

That's not to say God is against people. In fact, that couldn't be more false. God loves people. Despite all of our failings, He loves all of us. He loves us in spite of ourselves. In fact, He loves all of us so much that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. He loves us when we are in the depths of our sin, when we are at the bottom of the pit wallowing in the mess that destroys our lives, and He loves us enough to reach down into the pit and pull us out.

And yet, now people choose to take the rainbow God used as His promise and twist it. God gave us sex as a gift. He intended it to be something solely between a husband and a wife, something that would connect those two people so deeply that they would become one flesh. Anything outside of that plan invariably ends in pain and heartbreak. God's plans for us aren't there to hurt our feelings or spoil our fun; quite the contrary. His plans are for our ultimate good. As Creator of the universe, He knows what will make things work out best. His rules are for our good, no matter what we think of them.

And pride? That's been the downfall of creation from the very beginning. It was pride that made Lucifer want to become greater than God, pride that made him think he should be elevated and ultimately led to his fall from heaven. Then it was pride in the garden that made Adam and Eve believe the lie that they knew better than God, that they could control their lives better than He could. It was pride that made the religious leaders demand Jesus be crucified. It is pride that makes people turn away from God, determined to do things their own way, adamant that they know best, that they can control their own lives. It is pride that makes people turn away from the Creator.

The irony is, that pride leads people down paths where they lose all control of themselves. They give themselves over to lusts and desires and whims of their physical body with little thought of the impact it will have on the very core of who they are. That pride leads to shame and despair. As Paul wrote to the church in Rome:

^"18 For the wrath of God is breaking through from heaven, opposing all manifestations of ungodliness and wickedness by the people who do wrong to keep God’s truth in check. ¹⁹ These people are not ignorant about what can be known of God, because He has shown it to them with great clarity. ²⁰ From the beginning, creation in its magnificence enlightens us to His nature. Creation itself makes His undying power and divine identity clear, even though they are invisible; and it voids the excuses and ignorant claims of these people ²¹ because, despite the fact that they knew the one true God, they have failed to show the love, honor, and appreciation due to the One who created them! Instead, their lives are consumed by vain thoughts that poison their foolish hearts. ²² They claim to be wise; but they have been exposed as fools, frauds, and con artists— ²³ only a fool would trade the splendor and beauty of the immortal God to worship images of the common man or woman, bird or reptile, or the next beast that tromps along.

²⁴ So God gave them just what their lustful hearts desired. As a result, they violated their bodies and invited shame into their lives. ²⁵ How? By choosing a foolish lie over God’s truth. They gave their lives and devotion to the creature rather than to the Creator Himself, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen. ^26-27 This is why God released them to their own vile pursuits, and this is what happened: they chose sexual counterfeits—women had sexual relations with other women and men committed unnatural, shameful acts because they burned with lust for other men. This sin was rife, and they suffered painful consequences.

²⁸ Since they had no mind to recognize God, He turned them loose to follow the unseemly designs of their depraved minds and to do things that should not be done. ²⁹ Their days are filled with all sorts of godless living, wicked schemes, greed, hatred, endless desire for more, murder, violence, deceit, and spitefulness. And, as if that were not enough, they are gossiping, ³⁰ slanderous, God-hating, rude, egotistical, smug people who are always coming up with even more dreadful ways to treat one another. They don’t listen to their parents; ³¹ they lack understanding and character. They are simple-minded, covenant-breaking, heartless, and unmerciful; they are not to be trusted. ³² Despite the fact that they are fully aware that God’s law says this way of life deserves death, they fail to stop. And worse—they applaud others on this destructive path."