When I didn ’ t make much money and was the guy setting out chairs , God was so real and my motive was so pure . Now I wasn ’ t so sure . I loved being loved . I loved having fans and followers . Sin had crept in and was starting to wreak havoc throughout my life . I told those guys , “ I think I need to wrestle God like Jacob in Genesis 32 . He needs to knock my hip out of the socket .” So they prayed he would . You will read more about that later , but spoiler : he did .
Too Many Chairs
Have you ever had to put up chairs ? I have moved a lot of chairs in the last twenty years . It is an unexpected part of ministry no one warns you about . When God called me to it , I wish he had said , JP , I want you to quit your job and go work in ministry . PS : make sure you work on your biceps and triceps . Just a little heads-up would have been nice .
Metal folding chairs , conference center chairs , hotel ballroom chairs ... I ’ ve moved all of them over the years . Whenever it ’ s time to clean up after an event , the same situation unfolds . Different people carry different amounts of chairs . You always have the one guy who is there solely for the social aspect . He carries one at a time and is more focused on finishing his story than he is on getting the chairs on the rack . On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Gym Guy . You all know Gym Guy . He is there to show everyone that he has never missed arm day . He may even do CrossFit . You will have to ask him . Gym Guy is going to try to set a Guinness World Record in that moment . Everyone else is just doing their best and trying to carry as many as they can .
Without fail , something happens every single time : somebody drops some chairs . It makes a terrible noise . There is nothing worse than the sound of five metal folding chairs crashing onto a concrete floor . Why did they drop them ? They were trying to carry too many . Eventually they lost their grip , one chair started to slide out of their hand , and then the whole stack tumbled to the ground . They thought they had the situation under control , but eventually the whole thing came crashing down on them . They were carrying more than they were meant to carry .
The Vice of Pride
Pride causes us to carry more than we are supposed to , and a crash is coming . Christians believe that pride is at the root of Satan ’ s sin . According to Satan ’ s origin story in Ezekiel 28:12 – 19 , he was an angel — the most decorated and beautiful in God ’ s kingdom . But that wasn ’ t enough for him . He tried to grasp the same authority and power God had , so he was cast out of heaven and sent to earth . At the end of the day , Satan decided that merely being in a relationship with God was not enough . He wanted to be God . He did not trust God , and then he made it his mission to cause others to do the same . In Mere Christianity , C . S . Lewis wrote ,
According to Christian teachers , the essential vice , the utmost evil , is Pride . Unchastity , anger , greed , drunkenness , and all that , are mere fleabites in comparison : it was through Pride that the devil became the devil : Pride leads to every other vice : it is the complete anti- God state of mind . 1
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