ARROGANCE AND ANGER

But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

(2 Chronicles 26:16, NKJV)

Uzziah enjoyed a long and prosperous reign. He was successful and strong because he was faithful to God. However, his reign ended poorly. He became arrogant and went into the temple to offer incense on the altar, a task only priests were allowed to do. He became angry when the priests interrupted him. God struck him with leprosy. He died in isolation. He lost it all because of arrogance and anger.

Guard your heart against arrogance.

Uzziah knew that only the priests were allowed to enter the Temple. Every king was given a copy of the Law, which states very plainly who may enter the Temple and under what conditions they may enter. Uzziah was a king, but he was not a priest. He was not allowed to enter the Temple. He was allowed to enter the courtyard and bring sacrifices to be offered by the priests on the altar. But he was to go no further.

God had blessed Uzziah with great success for many years, because he faithfully followed God. As long as Uzziah was faithful, God blessed. But somewhere along the way success went to Uzziah's head. He became arrogant. He thought the rules no longer applied to him. He forgot that God sets the rules. Not even a powerful king has greater authority than God. Uzziah's arrogance caused him to violate God's law. He thought God would be pleased because he showed up, but ignored what God said in the process. God was not pleased.

We must guard our hearts against arrogance. It can happen to the best of men. Anytime we think too highly of ourselves, we risk becoming arrogant. The cure for arrogance is humility. Humility is not putting ourselves down. It is lifting God up and recognizing Him as being higher than ourselves. Humility is not cowardice or indecision. It is confidence properly placed - confidence in God, not ourselves. Submit to God totally. Trust God completely. Follow God faithfully.

Guard your heart against anger.

When Uzziah entered the Temple and approached the incense altar, the priests stopped him. They reminded him that it was forbidden for anyone except the priests to enter the Temple or to offer incense there. When they did so, Uzziah became angry. At that moment God struck him with leprosy.

Perhaps Uzziah could have avoided God's punishment if he had accepted the correction of the priests and left the Temple. Instead, he became angry. He was angry because his plans and desires were interrupted. We tend to justify what we want to do in our own minds. The problem is, sometimes what we want to do is wrong. But we justify it anyway and invent all kinds of reasons why it is OK for us to do it. That does not make it right. When someone confronts us or prevents us from carrying out our desires, we become angry. In such cases, we increase our sin by adding unjustified anger to whatever else we may be doing at the time.

Instead, we should receive correction gracefully. Remain calm. (Or calm down, if you are already angry.) Consider your actions in light of God's Word. You may find that you were wrong after all. If so, confess your sin to God, repent, and make appropriate restoration. That person who rebuked you and made you angry may have helped you more than you know.

Stay humble. Stay calm. Honor God.