Space travel has been heading the news recently. Three billionaires compete for the top spot. On July 11, Richard Branson with his Virgin Galactic aircraft travelled to space and experienced roughly 4 minutes of weightlessness. He beat another billionaire, Jeff Besos who was scheduled to fly on July 20 with his own aircraft, Blue Origin. Branson was seen in ecstasy as he and his passengers were moving freely inside the cabin. Once they landed, the celebration continued, and he has been on various TV interviews. On the other hand, another billionaire Elon Musk is not interested in flying in his own aircraft SpaceX anytime soon, but launched in February 2018, Tesla Roadster, the first and only car in space.
The media played all of these as a war of egos among billionaires. Remember the time when competition for moon landing was among countries particularly US and Russia. Fast forward today, new inventions and breakthroughs have become an effort from wealthy individuals or corporations. All three tycoons have the vision to commercialize space travel even as far as Mars. By the way, a ticket for a one-hour trip on Virgin Galactic is pegged at $250,000. A price most likely to rise with the recent hype and will be availed by mostly affluent clients.
These three magnates are admirable on how they grew their corporations, how they broke boundaries and how they continue to act on their vision. Richard Branson is well known through Virgin Group that is into commercial aviation, electronics, mobile phones, and more. At 70 years old, he continues to dazzle us with his wild adventures and explorations. Jeff Besos founded Amazon that catapulted him to his billionaire status. Amazon has been a household name as more consumers rely on online shopping. Elon Musk founded SpaceX and Boring Company, a tunnel construction service for loop travel. He is also the CEO of electric vehicle, Tesla. They are remarkable pioneers, great thinkers, highly intellectual, charismatic, effective leaders, and smart businessmen.
I am reminded of another prominent figure in history and mentioned in the Bible, King Nebuchadnezzar. He was known to be the most powerful and longest reigning ruler of the Babylonian Empire. He was blessed with power and riches. As a result, he was very much respected in Babylon and beyond. Unfortunately, this king took the gift of his life of abundance, success, and riches for granted. He allowed pride to rule his life. He failed to acknowledge God as the one who bestowed on him his riches and power. In Daniel 4:29-32, we read “Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
Such devastation because of his pride! From prominence he was driven to madness. The good news is that we see on Daniel 4:34-35, 'And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.” God restored his sanity as he acknowledged the source of his prosperity.
Another beloved Biblical character, King David, also went through a struggle of pride and self-reliance. In 2 Samuel 24 we read that he ordered Joab and his army commanders to take a count of his fighting men across Israel and Judah. Even Joab was opposed to it in verse 2, “But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?” It took nine months and 20 days to complete the census (that's how vast his army is!). In the end, King David saw the wrong thing he did. The motive in his heart was not right. His focus was no longer in the Almighty God that granted him success in his battles but his assurance came from the strength of his own army. He asked for forgiveness in verse 10, “David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.” The Lord in return gave him three choices for his punishment – famine, unrest from his enemies or plague in the land.
As what we have seen on these two great Kings, pride and arrogance is high on God’s list of the sins he detests. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” Haughty’s meaning in the dictionary is, “arrogantly superior and disdainful”.
Pride, arrogance, and sense of entitlement have always been a major struggle for you and me. It has driven us to compare and outdo each other, look down on other people, accumulate more than what we need or pursue big endeavors, sadly, not for the right reasons. Pride also leads us to put ourselves at the pedestal, revel on our own capabilities and forget about the people who helped us on the way, more so the God who made all things possible. There is nothing wrong with achieving good things, in fact, we encourage and celebrate this. However, the downfall comes when we forget the true source of our wisdom, strength and ultimately our life. May God grant us the grace to seek forgiveness for the pride in our hearts and allow us to acknowledge His favour and providence in our lives. He alone determines our rise and fall.
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