#WISDOMSample

Indestructible

The builders of the Titanic were convinced of one thing: this ship is unsinkable.

They were wrong.

The builders of the “Death Star” in the movie Star Wars believed that their planet-blasting spaceship had no weaknesses.

They were also wrong.

How is it that the people who can build such magnificent things are unable to see cracks, flaws, and possible weaknesses?

It’s easy – they believe that they’re above it. Pride is defined as “unreasonable conceit of one’s own superiority…” In other words, the builders above didn’t believe they had flaws and, therefore, their creations didn’t have flaws.

Proverbs tells us what most of us already know, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

This may be the most quoted proverb in history, but it is also the least respected wisdom in all of humanity.

Pride in our own abilities – that unreasonable kind of pride, the kind that believes we can do no wrong – sets us up for a massive collapse when the reality hits that we actually can do wrong. We have flaws. We have struggles and challenges. We miss out on opportunities, and we can’t see consequences before they happen. We don’t always know that we don’t always know.

The antidote to pride is confession. It’s hard to be prideful when we make a practice of humbly telling someone we trust about the places where we mess up, where we’re imperfect, and where we can’t do the things we claim we can do.

As you read the Proverbs, you’ll probably notice that they talk about “discipline” and “correction” on a regular basis. What’s interesting about those two items is that neither are helpful as long as we think we’re indestructible.

If we are unreasonably prideful, wisdom won’t make a dent. If we’re open to confession to a trusted friend and correction of our actions and thoughts, wisdom has a shot.

What level of pride do you see in your own life? Who is the person you confess your struggles to? Who helps correct the stuff going backward in your life?