The Staining of Pride

"Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city...? The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth." Isaiah 23:8, 9

There are two types of works in this world: those done by and for the glory of man, and those done by and for the glory of God. That which is done in the strength of the presence of the Spirit of God will radiate the glory of God so that even the blind cannot deny its presence. That which is done in the strength of the arm of the flesh will rise up with a radiance all its own; but when Christ returns and the whole earth is filled with His glory, the radiance of the glory of God will make the radiance of the glory of men seem a stained and contemptible thing, for all we do outside of Him is as filthy rags.

The radiance of the glory of that done solely by and for men is founded on pride and nothing else. Charity and goodwill may augment it at times, but its roots are forever bound fast in the soil of self-gain. When the presence of God returns unveiled to the world, the false glow of pride will fade away as candlelight to the dawn; and when that once glorious thing is placed side by side with the glory of God, we will see it for what it is: ugly and defiled, tares in the midst of wheat, fit for the furnace. All that we thought was glorious and honorable will be seen as contemptible and corrupt if it not of God. Such is the way of all flesh when the Truth will bring every high place low and every low place high.