THE STORY OF TWO BIG HEADS
GENESIS 3:1-13
THEME: PRIDE DESTROYS RELATIONSHIPS
Most teenagers bring home the report card. Parents look at the card hoping to see some B’s but mostly A’s from their child. If there are C’s and D’s, the parents are disappointment with the teenager. There is a high level of expectations in getting good marks. Also, teenagers can become disappointed if they are typically A’s student, but bring home a B’s to the family. There are high expectations of themselves. I never worried about high expectations. Every semester at High School, I would receive my report card from the teacher. I would be nervous about opening it. There were no nerves about maybe getting a “B” instead of an “A”. It was scaring to see if I passed or not. If I saw that I got over fifty, it was time for celebration. I was so happy to have passed. This is why when I entered Brown Trail School of Preaching, and started to get A’s across the line that it went severely to my head. I felt like I went from a complete dummy to an aspiring genius. Failure can devastate a person, but success can destroy someone. I must admit these new great grades went to my head. I went from believing I knew nothing to believing that I knew everything. I am sure most people cannot stand the wonderful ego that developed. I know it all is some who use to know nothing.
Maybe you have experienced this yourself. You were the underdog, you were the last place person, or you were doubted. But you overcame the odds and succeed. Maybe it was a job that know one told you that you could do. Maybe it was a business that no one believed you could run. Maybe it was a goal that everyone questioned you on. But you did it. Maybe you know some people that have allowed success to go to their heads. Maybe some grew up poor and not they have money and they bragged to everyone. Maybe it is a boss that you had, he worked his way of the company ladder and now everyone has to deal with his ego problem. He has allowed success to go to his head. Success can do terrible things to people. Success can destroy us. Ultimately, success can destroy the relationships that we have with others. People become tired of hearing us brag. People become resentful because we goad about the success with have. People do not want to be around those that are full of themselves. You can hurt many relationships with your pride problem. Friendships have ended; marriages have ended, all because of pride. Pride can hurt relationships.
Would you like some help in dealing not hurting your relationships with pride. It can happen to all of us. Have you ever got mad at your husband or wife because they said something mean to you? Have you ever reacted in a harsh way to someone at work because you felt like they were disrespectful? Have you ever got into an argument with a family member over something little but could not admit you were wrong? Pride had a way of destroying relationships between people. This lesson will help you to have better relationships because you will learn to do with your pride.
Fortunately, we see some teaching on pride in the Bible. In fact, the Bible says a lot concerning pride. It is one of the major issues in the history of God’s people as well as the church. Pride can hurt a lot of people. We see an example of this in the word of God. In fact, it does not take long for pride to hurt some relationships in the Bible. It starts quickly. In Genesis 3:1-6, we see the problem of pride starting to take over. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?" And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ’You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’" And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
In this text we see why the woman succumb to the temptation. Satan appealed to her pride. He stated that God just does not want you to be wise and knowing like him. He is going for the root of pride. You are special, you deserve the best, you are equal to God. Who is God to not let you have this fruit. And pride has a way of blinding you. It has to be pride for someone to desire to be equal with God in knowledge. Then the woman looks at the fruit and desires it. She is excited to eat the fruit. It was pretty to the eyes. And she believed it would make her wise. This is the appeal to her pride. Inside her head, she was saying to herself. “I am important, I desire this.” “I deserve this.” “God wants me to be happy.” “Who is God to tell me I cannot do this.” All of this is from pride. Like most sin, it is from pride. How many affairs happened because of “I deserve this.” “Think of all the hurt that has happened in the name of knowledge of experience.” I will try those drugs, just to see what it is like. I will go to this place to experience it. Pride has a way of cloaking the truth behind slogans that seem to make sense. Satan loves to fool us into thinking we are right. Pride has a way of making us never to admit the truth.
This reminds me of Keith. He was one of those people who was never wrong on anything. He knew every fact or truth known to man. One day, he was walking along the street and he happened to shuffle into the blacksmith shop, sawdust all over the floor. What he didn’t know was, just before he got there, the blacksmith had been working with an uncooperative horseshoe and beat on it till it was black. It was still hot, but it wouldn’t cooperate, so he tossed it over in the sawdust. Keith walked in, looked down and saw that black horseshoe. He picked it up, not knowing it was still hot. Naturally, he dropped it very fast. The old blacksmith looked over his glasses and said, “kinda hot, ain’t it, Keith. Keith shot back, “nope, just doesn’t take me long to look at a horseshoe.” Sometimes pride can cause us to cover up the truth, no matter what.
This is why pride can hurt relationships. You never truly see yourself in a relationship. It is always the other person’s fault. You are innocent. You hurt people because he cannot see the truth. Your pride has blinded you. We see this happening in Genesis 3:7-13 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Notice that both Adam and Eve begin to fall away from the Lord. Instead of having that great connection with God, they hide from the Lord. See pride always destroys a relationship. You will see relationships come to an end when there is serious pride. Adam and Eve pull away from their relationship with the Lord in this text. But as pride hurts the relationship with God, it hurts a relationship with man. Notice that Adam does not see his own problems in the text. When God asks him what he has been up to. He automatically blames his wife. Adam now his pride in dealing with the situation. He cannot admit his faults in the situation. It is not his fault, but the woman’s fault. In pride, there is a lot of blaming one another, but very little accepting of responsibility. There is a whole bunch of you, but very little of me in pride. But in fact, it is all about the me with me. Adam blames his wife for the sin. But Eve is not better, because she blames Satan in the situation. Or Lord, it is not me, I am innocent, it was that serpent. He made me do it. She does not admit that she really wanted to eat the fruit. In fact, the text says in verse 6, the true reasons why she ate. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” She wanted to because of her pride, not that she was slow of learning. She wanted to do this, but she did not admit it.
Think about all the problems in this world. You are mean to our husband or wife because he made you mad. But really you wanted to get back at him. You had an affair because you felt he was not spending enough time with you or you desired better than him or her. Pride will kill your relationships because you pretend that the motive is something that it is not. Satan has convinced you that you are not really responsible for your actions. If you get caught, you will say something like stress, unhappy, want more. Satan makes us think that our selfishness and pride is o.k. We cloak this in positive slogans.
So this week, I want you to be watching for your pride. If you begin to fight with your spouse, stop for a moment and ask why. Why are you doing this? Is it pride or true, but be careful, Satan can deceive you. During work this week, look how you are acting to your co-workers. Are you bragging or expecting them to do more than you. Watch this week how pride can hurt your relationships.
I remember a summer ago at the family vacation time. All of the nephews participate in bucking boards. This is where they ride their boards and I try to knock them off. It is a yearly contest. This year, Benjamin beat Nathanial who usually wins. Benjamin starts jumping around the pool, yelling he is the champ and point his finger at Nathanial yelling, I beat you, I beat you. His mother was watching the great contest and she yelled. “Benjamin, act like you been there before.” We can allow pride to enter into our lives and blind us to the truth of reality. We all need to act like we been there before. Act with some class in relationships, or your pride will destroy you.
