Amaziah was the 9th king of Judah and as we’ve read he succeeded his father at the age of 25 after he was murdered. Once again he seems to start so very well. He did everything by the book even executing only the perpetrators of his father’s death and not their children too. Carefully adhering to the laws of Moses and doing the right thing.
He listened carefully to God’s prophet who told him he didn’t need an army of 100,000 mercenaries to go into battle with Edom because God could and would give him everything he needed. So he dismissed them and won a famous victory.
And then it all went to his head. His ego became rather too inflated when he returned and he began to worship the false gods of the enemy he had just been given victory over. The same gods who had failed to protect the people who had previously worshipped them. Somehow the logic of that statement seemed to escape the pride filled Amaziah when it was pointed out to him.
I sometimes speak in church and as long as I’ve done it I’ve had one thought at the back of my mind. A very wise person once said to me that the moment I started to think, “I’m actually quite good at this” I should stop. Fortunately I haven’t yet got past the stage of nervously worrying about what I was going to say or how it might come across so the spectre of that kind of pride hasn’t become a problem just yet. But I am very wary of it.
So often when we see success in our efforts and activities we are lulled into a sense of superiority. Our pride inflates our ego and we stop thinking about where we’ve come from and who we really are. The result is that we stop relying on the one in whom all things are possible (1 Corinthians 8:6). Ahaziah’s ego was inflated by his ego – his pride fuelled ego and his focus drifted into the things he probably knew he could control. In his case handmade statues that had absolutely no power to achieve anything.
So, how often do you find yourself thinking, “I’m quite good at this”. How often do you find yourself doing things that you know you can control instead of the things that you can hand over to God to control for you? If Amaziah’s reign is anything to go by handing things over to God works a whole lot better.
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Father God keep us humble in everything. Don’t let our ego’s become over inflated with pride. Bless us with a natural ability to trust you in all things, Amen.