Habakkuk #5—Humble and Right

Behold, the puffed up one; his soul is not upright within him, but the righteous, by his faith, shall live. Habakkuk 2:4

Truly rational thought eludes the proud. Try as we might, attempting to solve problems with any hubris in our hearts keeps us from thinking straight and eventually leads to disaster. For arrogance erects a barrier truth cannot penetrate. Not trusting the wisdom and power of God is unreasonable, puts us in a wrong relationship with him, and leads to death. For example, Eve’s pride in her ability to decide whether the forbidden fruit would be good or evil led to her fall from grace. King Saul’s decision not to wait for Samuel resulted in the loss of the kingdom. Since our knowledge of the future is at least as limited as theirs was, we would be wise to align our decision-making processes with God’s instructions about how to live in our present. We are right to follow Jesus’ example and live out the obedience of faith. With humility we reason that we can only expect the consequences that are promised by the one who knows the future. Proud unbelievers defy this reality and attempt to manipulate the lives of others to forge their own self-centered future. When we live in the humility of faith, we accurately evaluate everything in comparison to the infinite, unexcelled and irreplaceable worth of Jesus and his grace. Proud unbelievers delight themselves in temporary treasures. Faithfulness in following Jesus is right-headed and leads to eternal life.

Exalted Lord, keep me from the foolish pride that betrays and belittles you while it harms my neighbor and kills me.