“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezekiel 28:17)
Whatever wisdom there is, it is God’s wisdom. Whatever beauty there is, it is God’s beauty. Lucifer wanted to be an “original.” He wanted to glory in himself and what he had. He will gladly have men glory in themselves. The more they appear to have, the more he will tempt them to be puffed up. But Paul corrected this attitude saying: “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7)
The only thing that Lucifer can claim originality in is evil and rebellion. God is the origin of all that is good and praiseworthy. For men to wish to take credit for anything good or beautiful they see in themselves is for them to copy the error of proud Lucifer.
May we never vie with others for recognition. May we never strive to outdo others so as to appear superior to them in some way. Apart from the grace of God and what He has given to us we are no better than anyone else. The Lord charges the “haves” of the world: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches” (Jer. 9:23) A man who knows he is a fool isn’t going to boast of his wisdom. A man who knows he is weak isn’t going to boast of his might. A man who knows he is poor isn’t going to boast of his riches. There is more danger in having than in not having.
Whatever humbles us is good. In certain areas we don’t need to humble ourselves; we are already humbled. But in those places where we have something to glory in, we are called to humble ourselves, lest God must do it for us. What goes up, must come down. Lift yourself up, and He will put you down. Humble yourself, and He will lift you up.
“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.” (Psalm 115:1)