Self-Blinding Sin
The Trouble With Being a Winner
A short article by Ron Hutchcraft
Even with all the scandals we hear about on the news, I thought this one was particularly stunning: the governor of a large state, arrested by the U. S. Attorney for what he described as "a corruption crime spree." The charges included allegations of seeking bribes in choosing someone to fill President Obama's Senate seat, bribes for state jobs and contracts, attempting to intimidate a newspaper into firing reporters who were critical of him. This one seemed really over the top!
Chuck Colson knows about abusing power and paying for it. He spent time in prison for his corruption-related activities in the Nixon administration. He said the Governor of Illinois had the same cancer that has brought down so many successful people. Colson called it the "spiritual cancer" of pride.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and Chuck Colson's insight on this story are, or should be, convicting for many of us. He said of the governor: "He's going to have to reach rock bottom, just as I did, before he will be able to escape his own prison of pride, self-delusion, and self-righteousness."
The Bible says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). I've come to realize that pride is actually the garden in which all other sins seem to grow. It's like a self-blinding sin. You don't even see it. We have an infinite ability to justify our actions, to maneuver things and people to get our way, until God saves us by allowing our pride to drive us into a wall.
When we hit the wall, we humble ourselves, we face the truth, and we experience His redemption. Here's the trick! Humble yourself before you hit the wall.
A short article by Ron Hutchcraft
Even with all the scandals we hear about on the news, I thought this one was particularly stunning: the governor of a large state, arrested by the U. S. Attorney for what he described as "a corruption crime spree." The charges included allegations of seeking bribes in choosing someone to fill President Obama's Senate seat, bribes for state jobs and contracts, attempting to intimidate a newspaper into firing reporters who were critical of him. This one seemed really over the top!
Chuck Colson knows about abusing power and paying for it. He spent time in prison for his corruption-related activities in the Nixon administration. He said the Governor of Illinois had the same cancer that has brought down so many successful people. Colson called it the "spiritual cancer" of pride.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and Chuck Colson's insight on this story are, or should be, convicting for many of us. He said of the governor: "He's going to have to reach rock bottom, just as I did, before he will be able to escape his own prison of pride, self-delusion, and self-righteousness."
The Bible says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5). I've come to realize that pride is actually the garden in which all other sins seem to grow. It's like a self-blinding sin. You don't even see it. We have an infinite ability to justify our actions, to maneuver things and people to get our way, until God saves us by allowing our pride to drive us into a wall.
When we hit the wall, we humble ourselves, we face the truth, and we experience His redemption. Here's the trick! Humble yourself before you hit the wall.
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