Chess Match With Satan
How Pride Destroys Humanity
Waves lapped the shore. There was the occasional slurp, like a dog drinking from an iron bowl.
Leonidas stood resolute as the shadows of the Persian fleet entered the bay north of Athens. One second there was only fog, and then they emerged, specters from the underworld.
A single doubt split his mind that the 300 Spartans who accompanied him may not be enough to keep the enemy from devouring the whole of Greece. But he stamped it out like an unwanted blaze.
They were fiercely trained, better than any of the other armies on the peninsula or the encompassing islands.
And help wasnโt coming. The rest of the city-states had made it clear they cared not what became of the Persians or Sparta. Both were annoying fleas, and of the two, theyโd rather live with the new nuisance than abide the old.
Though Leonidas hated them for it, he couldnโt blame them. The kings of Greece had been at odds for over a century.
But he also didnโt need them. His small band was sufficient to at least blacken the eye of Persiaโs god-king.
Whether live or die, they would send as many Persian troops to Hades as possible and become legend in this life or the next.
And thatโs exactly what they did.
When Xerxes received word of the insurmountable losses, he had no choice but to demand retreat. The small Spartan fleet was dead. But not before making a mockery of his armies.
Heโd been promised the Greeks were mere flies, easily swatted, but now his authority, power, strength, and integrity were an embarrassment. And the rest of Greece took notice.
The kingโs pride and false sense of certainty ensured failure. Thatโs what happens to everyone who worships himself.
Pride is a chess match with the Devil. One youโll easily fall into if not careful. And one youโre guaranteed to lose.
The Nature and Depth of Pride
We mistake pride as simple self-centeredness. It's so much more.
Like Xerxes, Adam, Eve, and the serpent tried to become gods in the Garden of Eden. An act of rebellion against Godโs authority. As Sandra Richter puts it in her book The Epic of Eden, they could choose their sovereign (that upon which they would depend) and chose poorly.
Said choice, said disobedience, attempted to co-opt the divine.
Pride is lust for unjust power and control over something perceived as valuable. Fueled by the illusion of self-reliance. Intellectual and moral blindness undergird the vice because of the smokescreen of โautonomyโ it creates.
The serpent, crafty and knowledgeable, posed a threat because of pride. He mastered it. Just like he mastered full knowledge of the cosmos.
A seraph, guarding the tree of knowledge until Adam and Eve were ready, he positioned himself for a thorough attack. Held all the cards. They were oblivious, like children, unprepared for universal secrets.
God and man stood as obstacles to absolute power, and because the latter were ignorant of the workings of the cosmos, they were easy prey.
Satan was, in fact, the first child predator.
In his hands, knowledge and wit became weapons for an attempted coup of the heavens and the earth. And heโs still on the huntโฆ
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