2 Chronicles 35:22-25  But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out to his men, “Take me from the battle, for I am badly wounded!” 

So they lifted Josiah out of his chariot and placed him in another chariot. Then they brought him back to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried there in the royal cemetery. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. The prophet Jeremiah composed funeral songs for Josiah, and to this day choirs still sing these sad songs about his death. These songs of sorrow have become a tradition and are recorded in The Book of Laments.” (NLT)

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Pride kills. 

An Isuzu Rodeo commercial years ago featured a man who heard a voice say, “Go farther.” Again and again, this disembodied voice said the same thing. The man takes the car farther and farther into all kinds of adventures. The final scene of the commercial depicts the man and the car on a raft, heading toward a waterfall. The voice says, “Too far.” ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQeJhtPpuA4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQeJhtPpuA4))

It’s okay to feel good about yourself when you live well and accomplish important tasks in your home and at your work. Acting as if you can do no wrong, however, is a problem. When we arrive at the place where we believe God thinks like we do, and that we don’t need to pray for wisdom and guidance, that’s when we discover we have gone too far. 

Josiah had a long run of good work. He did the right thing again and again, yielding positive results for the entire nation. Then he went too far, and it cost him his life. The rest of the nation’s history before their exile to Babylon could be summed up in one final and disappointing chapter. 

Pride’s sinful side always takes us where we don’t really want to go. It is painful. It is humiliating. It is dangerous. 

One of the most beneficial things we can do to protect ourselves against pride is to surround ourselves with people who love us enough to tell us the truth. It’s also good to periodically ask those we trust to tell us the truth about what we’re missing. I ask the team I work with two questions each summer. First, what do I do well that I need to do more of? Second, what do I think I’m good at that I am not as good as I think I am? 

A couple of pride-killing answers have come my way in answer to these questions. The sting is worth it. The sting is a warning sign that I am about to go over a waterfall, or worse. 

Who helps you stay humble without humiliating you? Who helps you make the course corrections that prevent you from unnecessarily harming yourself or others?

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I will ask for correction so that I don’t go too far in my pride.

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Our Father, thank you for the warning of Josiah’s life. Deliver us from sinful pride and its harmful consequences. Surround us with people who love us enough to tell us the truth. Amen.