but an accurate weight is his delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace;
but wisdom is with the humble.
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps their ways straight,
but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
(Prov 11:1-5 NRSV)
Pride, lack of integrity, self-righteousness; these things will all cause a person to fall. Their true nature will be found out and they will be shunned by the very people they have attempted to use and abuse for their own gains.
It is most unfortunate that there are so many people in the world who think that their unrighteousness is not visible to the world around them. Do they seriously think that their lies are not known? Have they considered that trying to justify their lack of integrity with very lame excuses is actually quite obvious to the people they are trying to bamboozle?
In at least some of the instances, I would guess that it is their very self-centered pride that causes them to be so deceptive. They think so highly of themselves that they think that everyone around them is blind to their attempts at manipulation. And... in the end, they will fall into the very same trap that they have attempted to lay for others. They will find themselves separated from the people around them.
Manipulation and lies, stemming from pride, to make oneself look better than their neighbors will not profit anyone in the long run. They will ruin you and separate you from the rest of humanity.
On the other hand, humility will unite you with your neighbor. Washington Allston said: "Humility is also a healing virtue; it will cicatrize a thousand wounds, which pride would keep for ever open." This I believe is most certainly true!
God's Peace - Pr. J
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