Proudly Foolish

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. -- Proverbs 11:29

Is it a coincidence that pride, disgrace, and humility precede wisdom in that verse? Solomon surely knew what he was writing about. I know that when I look back on my life I see that the times when I have gotten the most prideful and stubborn have immediately preceded the times when I've been the most humbled. I don't always learn those life lessons quickly but I do learn eventually and that is where the wisdom comes in. We can't receive wisdom until we've acknowledged that we don't have all of the answers.

If you have ever had, currently have, or have spent much time around teenagers you will immediately recognize this pattern of pride, stubbornness, humility, and wisdom. They think they know best way before they really do and they rebel at every turn. Eventually that leads to mistakes and hopefully from there they gain some wisdom. It's a cycle that continues all of the way through life, I think. I know that I still have times when I let pride get in the way of learning!

So the next time you feel yourself getting all full of pride and refuse to listen to God, I hope that you can remember this verse and stop your pride before it becomes an obstacle to the wisdom He wants you to gain from whatever situation presents itself to you.