Stay On Guard

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

In Edinburgh, Scotland, there is the Edinburgh castle – a tower of seemingly insurmountable strength. However, long ago, that castle was attacked and seized.

One place in the fortress was protected by its steepness and impregnability, and they therefore thought that no guards needed to be posted there.

Rather, it was at an obvious weak spot that the most guards were stationed.

Interestingly, at an opportune time, the attacking army sent a small band up that unguarded slope and surprised the garrison into surrender.

Where the castle was strong, there it was weak!

In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin wrote: “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility”.

Often, even the best of us struggle with pride in our lives, and come to think of it, it’s most likely the best of us that struggle with pride the most!

The enemy of our souls would like nothing more than to cause us to stumble, especially in the areas we feel most secure!! We need to be on guard. Let’s never put our hope in our own strengths, or anyone else’s for that matter. We must remind ourselves continuously that it is the Lord who is our strength, and He alone.