"Pride goeth before destruction." -Proverbs 16:18We discussed The Pride Cycle this week in Seminary. There's a great description of the cycle in Helaman 12: 1-6.
Historically, pride always seems to enter into the hearts of men after God has richly blessed them!
The cycle goes as follows: Blessings & Prosperity....which leads to Pride & Sin because of the easiness of life....which leads to Chastening so that we will remember the Lord....which should bring about Humility and Repentance....which returns us back to a state of Blessings & Prosperity. And so it goes!
I brought a bike wheel to class and we put a colored sticker on the spoke. Spinning the wheel, we could see the sticker continue to circle around continually, as long as the wheel is moving. The only way to prevent the movement: a force must be applied (just a little physics thrown in!).
The cycle can change if we are humble and immediately repent from sin & pride. So, the force to stop the cycle (and eliminate chastening) is repentance! And, the best antidote for pride is humility! It's wise to watch for the pattern or cycle in ourselves, since getting puffed up & proud and feeling hostile towards God or our fellowman are certainly not traits that bring out our better qualities!
"Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire." -William Penn
