Don’t Miss the Warning Signs of Pride
By Rick Warren
“So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the poor. Then you will continue to be prosperous.” Daniel 4:27 (GNT)
Too often when life is going well, we become prideful. And pride often leads to a downfall. As Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall” (NLT).
Pride blinds us, making it easy to miss the warning signs of an impending fall.
You can make some simple choices that will help keep you humble—and help you spot the warning signs of a coming fall before it’s too late. If you find yourself in a position of influence or wealth, for example, you might simply need to go home, mow your own lawn, wash your own dishes, and take care of the people around you.
But no matter who you are or what your life is like, you also need to be on the lookout for messages from God that you’re headed down the wrong prideful path and need to be humble enough to turn around.
Nebuchadnezzar’s life is a clear picture of this. God cared enough about this pagan king to warn him about what was coming his way in Daniel 4. God could have just removed Nebuchadnezzar from power—but instead he warned him and gave him a chance to change his ways. God gave him a dream, he brought Daniel to interpret the dream, and Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar what was going to happen and how to avoid it. You can’t get much clearer than that!
Daniel told the king, “So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the poor. Then you will continue to be prosperous” (Daniel 4:27 GNT).
Through Daniel, God gave Nebuchadnezzar three things to do and said success would follow. But the king chose to ignore this warning.
Is it possible you are ignoring or missing God’s warning signs too?
Maybe you’re having conflict in a relationship. You’re just passing it off as the other person’s problem, but God wants to use it as a warning sign—to show you that you’re off track in some area of your life.
It could be a temptation you’re battling because you’re continually putting yourself in a bad situation. Or maybe it’s chaos and confusion in your life. These all are signs that you’re not trusting God—that you’re trying to do life on your own terms.
God’s trying to tell you through these warning signs: “Stop sinning! Come back to me!”
If you’re heading down the wrong path, God loves you enough to give you a warning. Listen to his warning, repent of your pride, and return to him in humility today. He has given us this promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).
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