How long will the proud prosper?
One of my all-time favourite movies is Gladiator, starring Russel Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Djimon Hounsou. In the Academy Award-winning 2000 epic historical drama, the main character Russel Crowe plays the part of Maximus Decimus, Meridius, a general in the Roman Army. After the suspicious death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Maximus is ordered to be put to death but is eventually forced into slavery by Commodus, Marcus Aurelius’s jealous and morally bankrupt son who, in an act of prideful self-promotion, declares himself Emperor of Rome.
Once in power, Commodus organizes 150 days of celebration in the great Colloseum in honour of his father. However, it soon becomes evident that the brutal games, a spectacle of gladiatorial combat to the death, are less an exercise to commemorate the late emperor and more Commodus’s egregious attempt to honour himself. In a suspenseful clash between Maximus and Commodus in the Colosseum near the movie's final scenes, Maximus tells Commodus, “Your time for honouring yourself will soon be at an end.”
I will stop there as not to ruin the ending. As one watches this epic film, it becomes painfully evident that Commodus’s pompous attitude is nothing more than a facade masking his fear and deep insecurity. Nonetheless, one is compelled to wonder how long the arrogant and self-promoting emperor will be allowed to thrive.
Though we are far removed from ancient Rome, there are many examples in our modern society, whether in the political arena, the business or sports world, or even in Hollywood, of arrogant and prideful individuals who seemingly thrive. As I have in the past, one might even ask God, How long will the proud prosper?
In Luke 14:7-11, Jesus warns us of the danger of prideful self-promotion in“Parable of the Guests.” In verses 8-9, he states,
8 “Whenever you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and the one who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then in disgrace you will proceed to occupy the last place.”
A few things we can learn from verses 8 and 9.
1. Honour is better bestowed than presumed. Proverbs 25:6-7 states,
“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”
2. It is wise to be humble because the consequence of a lack of humility is humiliation. In Proverbs 11:2 we read,
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”
Jesus continues the parable in verses 10-11, stating,
“10 But whenever you are invited, go and take the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are dining at the table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
3. Humility is an avenue to honour. Proverbs 29:23 states,
“Ones pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.”
4. Humility is a sign of obedience and is pleasing to God. Jesus is our brightest example of humble obedience to God the Father. In Philippians 2:5-11 we read,
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
5. It is a “great paradox in Christianity that it makes humility the avenue to glory.” (M.G. Easton, 1897) Though at times, it may seem that society rewards prideful self-promotion, and indeed that is often the case, the Lord warns us of this error and encourages us to follow Jesus’s example. Not for the sake of being exalted, but rather, out of obedience and love and to the glory of God the Father.
As for the arrogant and the proud, their time for honouring themselves will soon be at an end.
Yours in Christ,
Brad
Resources
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 340.
Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, featuring (Russel Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, and Djimon Hounsou) (,DreamWorks Pictures Universal Pictures Scott Free Productions Red Wagon Entertainment, 2000), Format of Movie (DreamWorks Distribution, 2000).
