Dearly Beloved, BEWARE OF PRIDE! “But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. They confronted him and said, ‘It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God’” (2 Chronicles 26:16-18, NIV). King Uzziah of Judah was one of the prominent kings of Judah who started well as somebody who sought the Lord in his early years as king. Because of this, God gave him success and he became very powerful and famous (2 Chronicles 26:3-15). However, when he became powerful, he became proud even to God that had helped him. He started to do things that he supposed not to do – burning incense on the altar of incense. The act was the exclusive duty of the priests “who have been consecrated to burn incense.” The courageous priests of the Lord confronted him but his pride made him to be adamant in his inappropriate activities. As he was arguing with the priests, the Lord smote him and he became leprous instantly. He remained so till the day of his death, and so he was relieved of his responsibilities as a king and could not associate with even ordinary people in the society. Even he could not be buried properly with the other dead kings of Judah because of the disease. What a great fall for a great king! There have been people today that started well. They were doing the right thing. They worshiped God and serve the humanity. However, when they became great, they allowed pride to ruin them, and they became people of no reputation. The Bible says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5, NIV). What is your present status? Do you consider yourself as somebody that is too big for God? Are you overstepping your boundary because of your seemingly powerful position? What is your reaction to correction? Beware of pride! It goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). _________________________ Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). +234 805 515 9591 http://www.afolabayo.org/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spiritualdigest2003/ "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN" (Philippians 1:20-21, NIV). _________________________________________________ FindLaw - Free Case Law, Jobs, Library, Community http://www.FindLaw.com Get your FREE @JUSTICE.COM email! http://mail.Justice.com