Ezekiel 28:11-19: a reflection

11Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying, 12“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord GOD says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created. 14You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire. 15You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. 16By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane out of God’s mountain. I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the middle of the stones of fire. 17Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you. 18By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your commerce, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought out a fire from the middle of you. It has devoured you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all those who see you. 19All those who know you among the peoples will be astonished at you. You have become a terror, and you will exist no more.”’”

In a lament over a proud king, God traces his downfall to a heart lifted up by his own beauty, wisdom, and splendor, a warning against the pride that our own gifts can breed. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, God says; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. The king had been given great gifts, beauty, wisdom, wealth, splendor; but instead of these keeping him humble and grateful, they lifted up his heart in pride. He grew proud of his own beauty, corrupted his wisdom through his splendor, and this pride led to his fall. The very gifts that should have led to humility and gratitude bred instead a pride that brought him down. This shows the danger of the pride our own gifts can breed. Do not let pride in your own gifts, beauty, wisdom, or wealth, lift up your heart. The gifts that should keep us humble can breed pride and a fall. Beauty, wisdom, and splendor are given by God, not grounds for pride. Guard against a heart lifted up by your own excellence.

Notice how the king's gifts became the occasion of his fall. He had been given remarkable gifts: beauty, wisdom, splendor, wealth. These were good things, gifts from God. But instead of receiving them with humility and gratitude, recognizing them as gifts, the king let them lift up his heart: his heart was lifted up because of his beauty; he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his splendor. His gifts became grounds for pride, a sense of his own greatness and self-sufficiency; and this pride led to his downfall. The very things that might have led him to humble gratitude toward the Giver instead bred a pride that brought him down. This holds a searching warning about our own gifts. We too are given gifts, talents, abilities, and advantages: perhaps beauty, intelligence, skill, wealth, success, or other excellences. These are good gifts. But there is a real danger that our gifts, rather than keeping us humble and grateful, lift up our hearts in pride, a sense of our own greatness and superiority, a self-sufficiency that forgets the Giver. The gifts that should lead us to humility and gratitude can instead breed a pride that corrupts us and leads to a fall. This calls us to guard our hearts precisely in our gifts and excellences: to receive them with humble gratitude, recognizing them as gifts, rather than letting them lift up our hearts in pride. We do well not to let our gifts breed pride, but to hold them humbly as gifts from God, keeping our hearts from being lifted up. Do not let your gifts, beauty, wisdom, or wealth, lift up your heart in pride. Receive your gifts with humble gratitude, not as grounds for pride. The gifts that should keep you humble can breed a pride that brings you down. Guard your heart against pride precisely in your excellences.

That is worth taking to heart, for our gifts can breed a pride that lifts up the heart and leads to a fall, and we do well to hold them humbly, as the proud king's gifts led to his downfall. We can let our gifts lift up our hearts in pride; but the king's heart, lifted up by his beauty and splendor, was brought down. Hold gifts humbly. Do not let your beauty, wisdom, wealth, or other excellences lift up your heart in pride; receive them with humble gratitude as gifts from God, guarding your heart from being lifted up. Do not let pride in your own gifts, beauty, wisdom, wealth, or excellence lift up your heart, but receive them with humble gratitude as gifts from God, guarding against the pride they can breed, as in a lament over a proud king God traced his downfall to a heart lifted up by his own beauty, wisdom, and splendor, a warning against the pride our own gifts can breed, saying his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his splendor; for the king had been given great gifts of beauty, wisdom, wealth, and splendor, but instead of these keeping him humble and grateful they lifted up his heart in pride, so that he grew proud of his own beauty and corrupted his wisdom through his splendor and this pride led to his fall, the very gifts that should have led to humility and gratitude breeding instead a pride that brought him down, which holds a searching warning about our own gifts, since we too are given gifts, talents, abilities, and advantages, good gifts from God, but there is a real danger that our gifts rather than keeping us humble and grateful lift up our hearts in pride and a sense of our own greatness and self-sufficiency that forgets the Giver, so that the gifts that should lead us to humility can instead breed a pride that corrupts us and leads to a fall, which calls us to guard our hearts precisely in our gifts and excellences and receive them with humble gratitude rather than letting them lift up our hearts, so that we do well not to let our gifts breed pride but to hold them humbly as gifts from God.

Lord, in a lament over a proud king, you trace his downfall to a heart lifted up by his own beauty, wisdom, and splendor, a warning against the pride that our own gifts can breed. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, you say; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. The king had been given great gifts, beauty, wisdom, wealth, splendor; but instead of these keeping him humble and grateful, they lifted up his heart in pride. He grew proud of his own beauty, corrupted his wisdom through his splendor, and this pride led to his fall. The very gifts that should have led to humility and gratitude bred instead a pride that brought him down. Show me how the king's gifts became the occasion of his fall. He had been given remarkable gifts: beauty, wisdom, splendor, wealth. These were good things, gifts from you. But instead of receiving them with humility and gratitude, recognizing them as gifts, he let them lift up his heart: his heart was lifted up because of his beauty; he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his splendor. His gifts became grounds for pride; and this pride led to his downfall. This holds a searching warning about my own gifts. I too am given gifts, talents, abilities, and advantages, good gifts from you. But there is a real danger that my gifts, rather than keeping me humble and grateful, lift up my heart in pride, a sense of my own greatness and self-sufficiency that forgets you, the Giver. The gifts that should lead me to humility and gratitude can instead breed a pride that corrupts me and leads to a fall. This calls me to guard my heart precisely in my gifts and excellences. Take that to my heart. Keep me from letting my gifts, beauty, wisdom, wealth, or any excellence, lift up my heart in pride; help me receive them with humble gratitude, Lord, recognizing them as gifts from you, and guard my heart against the pride they can breed, that they may keep me humble and grateful rather than bringing me down.