The Gravity of a Fall

"Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy [harps]: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." Isaiah 14:11

We all believe that pride is followed by a fall (Proverbs 16:18), but it is possible that we do not fully grasp exactly how far we fall. The prideful are not just brought down, but all the way down, "even to the ground...even to the dust" (Isaiah 26:5), and even "to the grave" and "down to hell" (Isaiah 14:15). It is no small plummet to be knocked off your pedestal, and it is a truism that the more prideful you are then the more painful the fall, just as a fall from atop a skyscraper is more devastating than a fall from the top of a house (though both will hurt).
There are two things about pride we must grasp if we are to understand the gravity of a fall:

1. Pride has no glass ceiling. It will go as high as there is to go. Just listen to Satan's rantings (Isaiah 14:13, 14).
2. God will knock you down. "God resisteth the proud," (I Peter 5:5b) there is no way around it. Pride is an ever increasing rise into a greater and greater delusion about oneself, and the only cure is a divine reality check. It may not bring repentance (for repentance is a choice), but it will end the foolishness.

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." (James 4:10) The paradox is the truth: you must be brought down before you can be brought up (i.e., desolation and glory), for only when you think nothing of yourself can God make yourself into something.