It's Hard To Be Humble - 2 Chronicles 31:21-22

"In this way, King Hezekiah handled the distribution throughout all Judah, doing what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful." The reign of King Hezekiah of Judah as described in 2 Chronicles 31 and 32 was distinguished by his zeal to resume Temple worship and adherence to God's law. As a result of Hezekiah's devotion and obedience to God's will, he was successful in everything he did (vs. 32:30). Hezekiah was respected by the leaders of the surrounding nations and he engendered respect for God from these leaders, so much so that that they sent many gifts for the Temple and for King Hezekiah personally. When Hezekiah fell deathly ill, he prayed and God healed him and gave a miraculous sign (2 Kings 20:10-11 says God caused the sundial to go backwards ten steps!) Then Hezekiah became proud and God became angry with Hezekiah until he humbled himself and repented of his pride and God's anger did not befall him again during his lifetime (vs. 26). I can't help but believe the pride that Hezekiah exhibited in vs. 25 was the result of the acclaim he received from the leaders of the surrounding nations in vs. 23. It's hard to be humble when important and powerful people recognize your success! For Hezekiah, however, the consequences of success were duplicitous. On the one hand, he was doing something right--being obedient to God--to achieve success, but on the other hand he must have started thinking he was something he really was not because God was the real Force behind his success. Fortunately, Hezekiah's pride was mitigated by his repentance and humility, and God blessed him as a result. So, if the story of Hezekiah's reign is such a great success story, why am I belaboring his one little indiscretion? Why is it so important to avoid pride and to have humility, especially if God is making you successful? There are probably many reasons, not the least of which is that pride deceives you into thinking you're something that you're not. But the main reason I want to focus on humility is because humility is in God's character, and besides, it's the Christmas season! I know this sounds strange and, moreover, what does humility have to do with Christmas? Christmas reminds us and we even celebrate the fact that God humiliated Himself to redeem the humanity He so greatly loves. Yes, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, was born as a human being in a barn and His bassinet was a feed trough for livestock! It must be supremely hard for God to be humble, yet He is--for our sake! "So the Word became human and made his home among us" (John 1:14). (I realize it's a big theological leap from Hezekiah's pride to the baby Jesus in a manger, but during this season of the year it's hard to read my Bible and not find a Christmas story!)