Pride, Vanity Take Their Toll
We want to get to heaven and the most important thing to realize is that standing between you and heaven is of course, just YOU.
You may realize the source of the following:
- PRIDE goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
- When PRIDE comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.
- The wicked in his PRIDE persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
- Not a novice, lest being puffed up with PRIDE he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
- For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the PRIDE of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.
“All Is Vanity” by C. Allan Gilbert, suggesting an intertwinement between life and death.
All is Vanity, by Charles Allan Gilbert (1873-1929), carries on this theme. An optical illusion, the painting depicts what appears to be a large grinning skull. Upon closer examination, it reveals itself to be a young woman gazing at her reflection in the mirror. Such artistic works served to warn viewers of the ephemeral nature of youthful beauty, as well as the brevity of human life and the inevitability of death.
People full of pride eventually suffer in some earthly manner but the real danger of pride is its destructive eternal nature. I am very certain that pride will keep you out of heaven not necessarily in and of itself but we just cannot admit we might be wrong. I pride myself that I am the master of my life when in fact the God of heaven requires your submission.
It is indeed one of the truly great mysteries that men and women will not submit to their Creator even denying the existence of God – behind it is PRIDE.
