Original Sin

It has been aptly said that pride is the root of all sin. Pride is the original sin, but you might not know that it did not originate with man? Before the serpent tempted Adam & Eve in the garden, Satan himself had committed it as the original sin. Isaiah 14:12-14: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Notice the five “I will’s” in these verses, they show us the definition of pride. Pride is a high opinion of one’s self, an unhealthy opinion of superiority, arrogance, a love of one’s perceived excellence, and a seeking to be served instead of serving. Satan, or Lucifer as he was known, was the shining one, described as a bright star; he seems to be the one who reflected God’s glory in heaven before the fall. His sin was pride and when he fell he brought that temptation straight to man. Genesis 3:4-5: “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Pride is idolatry, when we push ourselves forward we are really playing God. We live in a very selfish, self-centered society, and most of us as Christian’s have grown quite accustomed to this me-first culture. So much so, that when we meet someone who genuinely puts others needs above their own we become immediately suspicious of them. Students live in a “Me-ocracy” where we view ourselves as the center of the universe and expect everything else to revolve around us. It’s made worse by our “followers” who enable us to entertain a lofty opinion of ourselves and to put others down.

James 4:1-6 describes our condition pretty well; “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

The simple truth is; we want our own way at any cost and resist anyone who tells us otherwise. When you have a conflict at home with your parents, a teacher at school, or with a friend, it’s really not about the stated issue but the root problem of getting your way. Selfishness, like lust, is an appetite you feed, the more you feed it, the more it wants!

Pride is… P- ublicly or Privately R- elaying I- (ME) D- eserve E- verything

So what’s the solution? It’s time to dig up the root and change our standard. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” While it is easy to do a selfless act, it is much harder to live a selfless life. James 4:7-10 also gives us the solution; “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”We must learn to submit to God as our ultimate authority and He has called us to copy the life of Christ which was a life of service.

When we gossip, and tear down others we aren’t following Christ’s example. The only people Christ condemned during His ministry here on the earth were the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy. They knew the Word, they were supposed to be the teachers yet it was they who looked at others with human eyes instead of seeing others as a reflection of God. Again, James 4:11-12 warns us; “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”

Remember the devil, what was his punishment for the revolt in heaven? He was cast out, eternally separated from God. His ability to reflect God’s glory was gone. Notice how pride needs followers, Satan lured one-third of the angels to join him to overthrow God, and we now call them demons. He also enlisted mankind to take part in the same idolatry he felt towards God. Often, our pride needs followers too. We surround ourselves with others who make us feel better about ourselves, listen to us, and help us obtain our position within the social rankings. Some of you may be realizing that while you also struggle greatly with pride that you are one of those followers. You are enabling others to put other people down, because you laugh at what they say, or just don’t say anything when you know something’s wrong.

Here’s the question; who are you following? God or our enemy?