WHEN SUCCESS MAKES A PERSON ARROGANT
SCRIPTURE:
“The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:”‘ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created, they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So, I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 By your many sins and dishonest trade, you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So, I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.” (Ezekiel 28:11—19)
OBSERVATION:
Ezekiel is addressing the king of Tyre. Ezekiel is addressing the king of Tyre as a person, and yet his description here also addresses a supernatural being. If the king of Tyre was a person who ruled in Tyre as a physical place, why was he given a supernatural description? Who was in the Eden, the garden of God? Also, God said; You were anointed as a guardian cherub and was ordained.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says:”‘ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created, they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
This doesn’t sound like a description of a living person or of an earthly king. The king of Tyre was a person who ruled and did business with many nations. He was rich, he had everything, and his heart became proud and rose up against God. But the description above seems to be referring to someone who was in the beginning with God in the garden of Eden.
Lucifer is a spirit that was in the beginning, and I believe, is manifesting his spirit through the king of Tyre. The king of Tyre was not a “guardian cherub”; this is only for spirit beings and angels. Cherub has no physical body. They are spirits. Behind all that man does, the spiritual world also is involved.
The king of Tyre was doing well until pride was found in him. His heart became proud on account of his beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. Behind every issue that we see and experience, we are moved by spirits that influence us. Behind many of the things that drive us to become successful in business, it is often driven by the spirit of pride. What we see in the world that is run by businesses and trades often puff people up with pride and power. When we are proud of our achievements and successes, we don’t need God. It is not wrong to have riches, but it is a terrible thing when our riches have us. The spirit that works behind the king of Tyre is still working in the trade and businesses today. Man becomes proud and arrogant, and their spirits are lifted up against God and against what is right to do. I am reminded of the danger of success when I am driven by the spirit of mammon and not the Spirit of God. We will always do everything with the spirits that influence our minds and reasoning.
APPLICATION:
Reading this reminds me to guard my heart and be careful of allowing pride and wrong spirits to guide me in what I do. Success is a good thing. But more importantly, it’s the spirit in which I am guided. Will my success make me arrogant and prideful, or would it humble me to acknowledge God’s hand in my work? We are all motivated by different spirits that get us to do what we want to do. I learned to be careful of the kind of spirit that motivates me to do things in the spirit of the world.
PRAYER:
Jesus, I thank you for the reminder to guard my heart against the spirits that try to influence and motivate me to do the things that are unfitting for a child of yours. Help me to be humble and to acknowledge who you are in my life. I look to you daily and am so grateful that the blessings in my life come from your hand. Thank you, Lord, for opening my heart to your truth. Keep me from an arrogant and prideful spirit. Amen!
TITLE: WHEN SUCCESS MAKES A PERSON ARROGANT
SCRIPTURE:
“The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:”‘ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created, they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So, I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 By your many sins and dishonest trade, you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So, I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.” (Ezekiel 28:11—19)
OBSERVATION:
Ezekiel is addressing the king of Tyre. Ezekiel is addressing the king of Tyre as a person, and yet his description here also addresses a supernatural being. If the king of Tyre was a person who ruled in Tyre as a physical place, why was he given a supernatural description? Who was in the Eden, the garden of God? Also, God said; You were anointed as a guardian cherub and was ordained.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says:”‘ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created, they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
This doesn’t sound like a description of a living person or of an earthly king. The king of Tyre was a person who ruled and did business with many nations. He was rich, he had everything, and his heart became proud and rose up against God. But the description above seems to be referring to someone who was in the beginning with God in the garden of Eden.
Lucifer is a spirit that was in the beginning, and I believe, is manifesting his spirit through the king of Tyre. The king of Tyre was not a “guardian cherub”; this is only for spirit beings and angels. Cherub has no physical body. They are spirits. Behind all that man does, the spiritual world also is involved.
The king of Tyre was doing well until pride was found in him. His heart became proud on account of his beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. Behind every issue that we see and experience, we are moved by spirits that influence us. Behind many of the things that drive us to become successful in business, it is often driven by the spirit of pride. What we see in the world that is run by businesses and trades often puff people up with pride and power. When we are proud of our achievements and successes, we don’t need God. It is not wrong to have riches, but it is a terrible thing when our riches have us. The spirit that works behind the king of Tyre is still working in the trade and businesses today. Man becomes proud and arrogant, and their spirits are lifted up against God and against what is right to do. I am reminded of the danger of success when I am driven by the spirit of mammon and not the Spirit of God. We will always do everything with the spirits that influence our minds and reasoning.
APPLICATION:
Reading this reminds me to guard my heart and be careful of allowing pride and wrong spirits to guide me in what I do. Success is a good thing. But more importantly, it’s the spirit in which I am guided. Will my success make me arrogant and prideful, or would it humble me to acknowledge God’s hand in my work? We are all motivated by different spirits that get us to do what we want to do. I learned to be careful of the kind of spirit that motivates me to do things in the spirit of the world.
PRAYER:
Jesus, I thank you for the reminder to guard my heart against the spirits that try to influence and motivate me to do the things that are unfitting for a child of yours. Help me to be humble and to acknowledge who you are in my life. I look to you daily and am so grateful that the blessings in my life come from your hand. Thank you, Lord, for opening my heart to your truth. Keep me from an arrogant and prideful spirit. Amen!
