Isaiah 14

In this chapter of Isaiah, we get a glimpse of Lucifer and the insane road he traveled which led him to total destruction: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” (vs 12-15)

The essence of sin is insanity. And it is summed up so well in this description of the created being who decided that he was going to rise above his Creator. This is the height of pride (and insanity), for a being who is created to suppose that he could become the Being who is uncreated.

If we take any lesson from this, let’s take this one: We cannot be gods. Ever. We are created beings who are dependent upon our Creator for life. We have nothing within us that can create or sustain life. If it is not given to us, we’re doomed. Thus, to entertain the selfish notion in our hearts that we could rise above our Creator, overthrow our Creator’s government, or force our Creator to submit to our authority is nothing short of suicide. If we cut ourselves off from our Source of Life, we’re finished. If we destroy our Creator, we destroy ourselves.

I once knew a man who broke both of his ankles when he fell off a ladder whilst trimming a tree. And the reason he fell off his ladder was because he cut off the tree branch that his ladder had been resting on. I wonder what went through his mind on his way down to the ground. He’s probably lucky that he only broke his ankles!

This is exactly what happens to us spiritually when we allow the selfishness and pride of sin to take over our hearts. We become so focused on exalting ourselves that we may not realize that the Branch we’re trying to cut down is the only thing that’s supporting us. Cutting it out of our lives is the first and last stop on the way down to “the depths of the pit.”

This isn’t because God decides to destroy us for trying to destroy Him. It’s a natural consequence of our actions—just as the man’s ladder falling down was the natural consequence of removing the branch it had been resting on. God is life, and His way of doing things (love) is the very foundation of life. Thus, when we reject love and embrace selfishness, we are embracing destruction and death.

Bible commentator Geoffrey Grogan summed it up this way: “It is a strange paradox that nothing makes a being less like God than the urge to be his equal, for he who was God stepped down from the throne of his glory to display to the wondering eyes of men the humility of God.” God is love, and His love is the foundation of life. When we depart from that, the only direction for us to go is down.