In Judges 8, Gideon was tempted by his pride. He came home a great military leader and was no doubt enjoying the praise of the people. When they made him an offer to be their king, the temptation to give in to pride overcame him in the worst way: he both spoke and acted like a hypocrite.
He told the people he would not be their king because God would rule over them but he immediately worked to build himself up with kingly authority. He constructed a royal vest out of gold and hung it up for the people to worship. The bible tells us this vest became a "snare" for Gideon and his family.
It haunted him because he acted to build himself up but ended up bringing the people down.
Pride is dangerous. It causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we should and to do stupid things to build ourselves up in front of others.
We should learn from the example of Jesus, who in Matthew 4:1-11 faced the temptation to give in to pride and accomplish his goals by taking shortcuts. But Jesus showed that the way forward is through serving, not presiding over, others, and keeping your focus on God at all times.
Contrast these two examples, and follow Jesus.
Sermon: Pride and Temptation (Judges 6-8)
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