2 Chronicles 26:16
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He
was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn
incense on the altar of incense.
Polymaths are multi-talented people who have a cut in every field of
study they ran into. The likes of Isaac
Newton who was a mathematician, physicist, theologian, astronomer, alchemist
and philosopher; and, Paul Robeson who, aside from singing and acting, also
excelled as a professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator, scholar and
lawyer. I can imagine their names always
on the guest list because they can sensibly give inputs to everybody’s delight.
They have the respect, the honored seats, and the power to influence decisions.
Many would do anything and everything in exchange for that life. Even in today’s
era of specialization, we wish to have that spotlight - - a.k.a. the pride of
life. Now, be careful what you wish for.
It may not be outrightly what King Uzziah aspired for. Maybe he was
just hoping for Judah to rise up again from the destruction that Jehoash left
behind. But because he did what was
right in God’s eyes, he was given success left and right. As
Commander-in-Chief, he found himself with a powerful, well-trained military force
armed with war machines that caused his fame to spread far and wide. As
Chief-Ruler, he further succeeded in attending to Judah’s welfare by building
high towers and deep cisterns, to expanding the livestock, fields and vineyards.
As a politician, he sure did ably in state affairs considering he was Amaziah’s
heir. And being under Zechariah, he too
was a student of the word. There was no
place in the land where his genius had no direct hand. All except God’s temple. Maybe he thought, ‘Why can’t I? My
credentials are far better than those priests. Maybe I can even reinvent the
system and make it more relevant. And as king, why should my sins be made known
to them? They are my subjects here!’ And
so with a censer and much confidence in his heart, he trespassed the priestly
office.
As we grow old, with our education, experiences and inevitably gray
hairs, there’s that sense that wisdom has fully set in. We bombard our
youngsters with our ‘been there, done that’ quotes which somehow elevates us to
becoming their authorities. And the mindset go with us everywhere. We offer
unsolicited advice to already-stressed new parents; we meddle even in church
financial decisions; we publicly malign our government system; and we think we’re
smarter than our spouses. All these because God graciously gave us more years
to our lives and more life to our years? We often pray for God to bless the
work of our hands and be an influence to more people. But have we ever
stopped to consider what we'll do with our successes? Are we sure to follow God's lead and
give Him all credits? Because if it not, that pride will be to our downfall,
like Uzziah’s leprosy ‘til his deathbed - - a tragic end that discredited all his
good years.
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