The Amnesia of Sin and the Plague of Pride
Updated: Jun 25
The Amnesia of Sin and the Plague of Pride
(Proverbs 3:34) Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he gives favor.
Sin gives us amnesia, it makes us forget.
Our amnesia has its roots in our sin nature and in our world. We forget how faithful God has been in the past, and even now his steadfast love, grace and mercy is at work, and we know this, yet…
Even the men acknowledged by God as being after his own heart forgot and sinned. The reality, the ultimate reality that surrounds us is that God the Father, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit are constantly at work in our lives and the world around us. The daily cause and effect in our lives, the so called coincidence and synchronicity, the chance and luck are but traces of a complex and intricate weave of time and God’s providence and sovereignty. The unseen realm intersects our own. The spiritual world we post moderns so quickly dismiss is at war and we are part of it.
The Bible defines sin as the breaking, or transgression, of God's law (1 John 3:4).
What is the Law? The Law is Gods instructions concerning the moral, social, and spiritual behavior of His people found in the first five books of the Bible. The Law reflects the nature of God because God speaks out of his Holiness. Therefore, since God is pure, the Law is pure. Since God is holy, the Law is holy.
If we think of how God did not want Moses to see him directly, or the Priests to touch the Ark of the Covenant we have a picture of our spiritual condition as it pertains to God’s purity and holiness.
Sin began with the pride of Lucifer and found its way into humanity by way of Adam and Eve’s rebellious decision. It was rebellion against God and his Word. To understand sin helps us understand salvation and our Savior. The world takes notice of spectacular sins, sins that grab the headlines. But sin is systemic and is part of all we do. Sin holds man under its authority, just as a child is under his parents or an army is under its commander. It is viewed as a living, active, forceful and dynamic power that has man under its control. Paul refers to sin's power to rule in Romans 5:21: ". . . sin reigned in death." The apostle personifies sin with a nature that is depraved and holding sway.
The bible points to pride as the root of all sin. Pride is when we have an overinflated sense of worth, value and importance. We desire to be like God. But we can’t, we in fact are not God; Satan who was and is the most intelligent and beautiful creature to come from the hand of God tried and failed. The world in which we live operates out of pride.
Humility as an attitude and a viewpoint counters and opposes pride through learning to be self-forgetful.
Therefore you and I must put humility at the center of our thoughts and behavior. Pride lurks around every corner in our daily lives.
C.S. Lewis stated: “to even get near [humility], even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert.”
(Proverbs 3:5–6)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
(Proverbs 3:34) Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he gives favor.
We must learn through prayer and a relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit how to have a self-forgetful outlook in our lives. God gives grace to the humble through guidance. We each must humbly refuse to be wise in our own eyes. Humility teaches us we are fallible, and so we must allow criticism and learn from it.
We see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
A wise man is he who listens to counsel (Proverbs 12:15).
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Corinthians 5:11).
Therefore, let us all be humbled under the mighty hand of God,..