(by Lorie Codispoti)
Pride is the largest tree in the forrest, dwarfing every other resident within miles.
The giant crown is supported by a massive trunk. The expanse of its canopy is quite impressive and would not be possible without the numerous and sturdy limbs that help to showcase its wonder among the neighboring trees. Thousands of tiny leaves decorate the branches, each one sporting a different shape, with the collective modeling a dazzling display of bright colors. When the wind blows it’s as if you can see the tree dancing. A cacophony of voices blend harmoniously as each leaf sings its own song. From a distance Pride is perceived to be the most beautiful tree in the forrest. It’s distinct features arouse the curious and invite the viewer to come a little closer.
However, there’s something deep within the heart of each person drawn to the mesmerizing beauty of Pride. One might describe it as an eerie sense that something isn’t quite right. Might this be a warning?
In the Garden, the serpent enticed Eve to question the Truth God had given her. He offered her a beautifully crafted pair of lenses that would bring clarity to her vision as she approached the tree that was blurred by distance. Promising that if Eve partook of its fruit, the tree would enable her to see things like her Creator. Even better - she’d be a god, like Him.
Every good lie contains an element of truth; otherwise it wouldn’t have the ability to deceive those it entices. The serpent was correct when he said “your eyes will be opened…” (Gen.3:5,7), but that opening was something very different than what was expected. Eve took the bait that pride offered and Adam joined her. Sin entered their perfect world and produced its sentence of death to all mankind.
C.S. Lewis said, “Pride is the complete anti-God state of mind. It is the sin that leads to all others.. “
THE LIE
LGBTQIA+?
What happens when you keep adding letters to your self-imposed identity? You get alphabet soup. The letters have no ability to form and reflect words of truth. All they do is float around in a sea of chaos. And in the end, they’re gobbled up by the ravenous one who captures them in his spoon.
I’m ashamed to confess that in my early Christian walk I could have cared less who you chose to have sex with. I knew it was wrong, but I excused it thinking that it was a private choice that had no effect on me. I worked closely with a homosexual, and when he introduced me to his live-in partner I thought their sexual preference was gross, but I kept that opinion to myself because I cared for him and didn’t want to appear unloving.
Was I wrong? Yes. I bought the lie that mixed a counterfeit love with my “own understanding” (something we’re warned not to lean on). I surmised that all was well, but all was, in reality, far from well. Our enemy was quietly collecting the fruits of his tree for a big pot of pride soup.
In her article, “Are We Living Out Romans 1?” Rosaria Butterfield points out the three exchanges homosexual people make in order to embrace a lie. They chose to suppress truth, and as a result: exchanged glory for corruption (1:23), exchanged knowledge of God for falsehood (1:25); and exchanged the creation ordinance for a dysfunctional sexuality that is “contrary to nature” (1:26-28). She points out that no sin is private, and that these exchanges are a progression that will deaden the conscience and sear the soul.
We needn't be surprised by Pride. From the onset, Satan has been on a mission to re-image humanity and deceive people into identifying themselves based on themselves. If he can convince you that you can have a different identity than the one you were created with, you’ve just landed in his spoon.
THE TRUTH
If I truly care for people who have exchanged their God-given identity for this lie, then I will do what I can to expose it (Eph.5:11). To love someone with the same love Christ has for us (Jn.15:12) means that, for the sake of their eternal soul, I need to be willing, ready, and able to share truth with them and pray they will embrace it. If the Bible tells me that pride is not a virtue, and that it precedes a great fall, wouldn’t I want to see those trapped in a lie set free?
In John 8 Jesus tells His followers that He is the Light of the world, and that they need not walk in darkness (8:12). If they abide in His word they will “know the truth, and the truth will set you free (8:31-32).
It’s past time to throw away the artificial lenses that give us a distorted view of reality. The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2Cor.4:4), but our Creator (Truth) commands light to shine out of darkness (4:6). His unfathomable love for us desires for us to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1Jn.1:7).
Taking the blinders off can be a very difficult choice, but it’s a necessary one if you want to see the Pride tree for what it really is - a death trap. While it continues to claim to be the largest tree in the forrest by those who boast and promote their godless ideology, a very different view is observed when you look through the lens of Truth.
Truth reveals Pride’s massive trunk to be one that emits an intense heat from the fire that burns within its core. As you approach it you notice an inverted crown, which indicates a loss of prestige, power, and authority. The limbs that showcase the canopy are a disturbing sight, as they reveal the dismembered human appendages that were torn off by the traps that ensnared them when they touched the tree. And what first appeared to be a variety of multi-colored shaped leaves is actually the disfigured faces of all those who painted themselves to look like something other than what their Creator designed. As you focus your lens of truth, a visible chain reveals all those who are bound to the tree. And when the wind blows, what originally appeared to be dancing and singing is, in reality, each prisoner writhing in pain as their cries of despair echo through the empty darkness that surrounds and engulfs Pride.
When seen through the lens of truth, this loathsome object of disgust is exposed for what it really is. However, the most vile thing you will find when Truth exposes Pride is the serpent who sits under its dark canopy. He meticulously milks all the “leaves” of their tears and collects the “fruits” in his evil caldron. He then bottles his poison and markets it the same way he did in the garden by convincing his targets to question God’s goodness. He plants the idea that they are missing out, and an ungodly desire takes root and secures another prisoner to his tree of death.
HOPE FOR THE LOST
“I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life…” (Jn.14:6).
Jesus Christ is the only one who can rescue us from Satan’s snare. He said that He came to “seek and save” those who are lost“ (Lk.19:10). He regularly visits the forrest where the Pride tree resides. To all its residents He proclaims, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…” (Lk.4:18)
How can He do this? Because the tree that He willingly sacrificed Himself on exposed the lie and bought back what the serpent stole.
The chains of the bound fall away for every prisoner who responds to His voice. The freedom restores them to live as the men and women God created them to be.
It’s the tree of Truth whose crown is upright, revealing genuine prestige, power and authority. Early every morning, the Son rises and the rays of His glory reflect off of the dew-like living water on each leaf. The bounty of color is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. And when the Wind of His Spirit blows through the canopy, each leaf detaches for one purpose - to encircle the tree, filling the air with dancing and singing praises to the One who created them for this very purpose.
Reject Pride! It may rise up for 30 days every year, spouting a fountain of lies in hopes of capturing more victims, but it is marked for destruction. Don’t be caught in Pride’s snare on the day it implodes.
Truth has no expiration date. It offers every weary soul renewal and joy forevermore.
Choose Truth and live!
