2 Samuel 10: 6 “Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David…”

 

There is a high price to pay for pride!  Hanun had received bad counsel concerning the emissaries sent from David at the death of his father.  David had been befriended by Hanun’s father, and he was only seeking to express his grief for his loss.  Hanun’s princes told him that David had ulterior motives and instead of expressing grief, David was seeking to discover their weaknesses to overthrow the Ammonites. Wrong! He humiliated David’s emissaries and when Hanun realized that he had misread David’s intentions, instead of humbling himself and seeking forgiveness, he sought to justify his actions by making war with David! Wrong, again!  What happened? The armies that fought against David were thoroughly defeated, but at the end they made peace with David, only after the great loss of many soldiers from Hanun’s army.  Had he been willing to admit wrong and seek forgiveness, all this sorrow and humiliation and death could have been avoided.  

 

Pride is so destructive in our lives when we refuse to admit wrong, ask forgiveness, and show a willingness to humble ourselves before others, not exalt ourselves.  Hanun refused to humble himself before David because he refused to humble himself before the Lord.  If we walk in humility before the Lord, we have a much higher sensitivity and awareness of destructive pride.  When we operate in pride, it will cause destruction in relationships, and depending on the circumstances, could result in great sorrow and loss.  As believers we all battle with pride. Only by submitting to God and humbling ourselves before Him can we hope to break the grip of this destructive attitude.  Somehow, we think that if we are proud, we are showing strength, but in reality, it reveals our weakness in our relationship with God. God rejects the proud but gives grace to the humble. God’s grace in our life will spare us disgrace!