(2 Ch) 32:25 CJB “However, Hizkiyahu did not respond commensurately with the benefit done for him, because he had grown proud; thus he brought anger on himself and on Y’hudah and Yerushalayim as well.”

The danger of pride is that we can receive extraordinary blessings from God and somehow conclude that we’re extraordinary men!

That’s what happened to King Hezekiah.

God had delivered him from an overwhelming Assyrian army. According to 2 Kings 19:35, the angel of ADONAI struck down 185,000 enemy soldiers in one night!

Then, when Hezekiah became terminally ill, God healed him and granted him another fifteen years of life.

Two extraordinary miracles!

Yet Scripture tells us Hezekiah failed to respond appropriately to God’s goodness.

Why?

Because his heart became proud!

The Danger of Pride After God’s Blessings

Think about that.

Hezekiah received what he could never have accomplished himself.

He couldn’t defeat the Assyrian army.

He couldn’t heal his terminal illness.

He couldn’t add fifteen years to his life.

God did all of it!

Yet instead of responding with humility and gratitude, Hezekiah became proud.

Isn’t that just like us?

God provides for our families, blesses our work, protects us through difficulties, and answers our prayers.

Then somehow we begin thinking our success is evidence of how remarkable we are!

Men, that’s dangerous territory.

God’s blessings should make us grateful, not arrogant!

God’s Goodness Deserves a Greater Response

Paul repeatedly reminds us in Ephesians 1 that God’s glorious grace deserves praise.

Three times, in verses 6, 12, and 14, Paul directs our attention to the praise of God’s glory.

Why?

Because everything we have in Christ comes from God’s grace!

Our salvation, forgiveness, adoption, and inheritance are gifts we could never earn.

Hezekiah’s failure wasn’t that he couldn’t repay God.

None of us can!

His failure was that his heart didn’t respond appropriately to the goodness he had received.

And that’s worth examining.

Does our gratitude reflect the greatness of God’s generosity toward us?

Pride Forgets Who Deserves the Glory

Consider God’s character.

He sustains the world He created. He provides for people who ignore Him. He patiently endures rebellion from those who depend on Him for their very next breath.

Yet He remains merciful, generous, patient, and kind.

Jesus demonstrated God’s humility when He willingly took the form of a servant and humbled Himself to death on a cross (Philippians 2:5–8).

The One deserving all glory humbled Himself to save undeserving sinners!

And we become proud because we received a promotion, built a successful business, raised a family, or accumulated some wealth?

Really?

James 4:6 reminds us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Pride takes credit for what God has provided.

Humility recognizes the Giver and responds with gratitude.

Responding to God’s Goodness with Obedience

God doesn’t bless us because we’re so wonderful.

He blesses us because He is good!

And His goodness should produce something in us.

Greater love for Him.

Greater joy in knowing Him.

Greater obedience to His Word.

Greater kindness, generosity, and compassion toward others.

We can never repay God’s goodness. But we can respond to His grace with lives increasingly devoted to His glory.

Not to earn His favor, but because we’ve already received it in Christ!

Interestingly, 2 Chronicles 32:26 tells us Hezekiah eventually humbled himself, and God’s judgment was delayed.

There’s hope for proud men who repent!

Run Today’s Play

Ask yourself: Have God’s blessings made me more grateful and obedient, or more impressed with myself?

Give God the glory. Identify three blessings you’ve received that you could never have accomplished without His provision. Thank Him specifically for each one.

Turn gratitude into obedience. Demonstrate God’s goodness toward someone today through an act of generosity, kindness, or service without seeking recognition.

Men, the danger of pride is forgetting that everything good we have comes from God.

Don’t allow His blessings to become the occasion for your downfall.

Let His goodness produce humility, gratitude, joyful obedience, and love for others.

God deserves the glory. We get the privilege of giving it to Him!