He really poured on the coal for the steep climb. His clickety-clack pace surprised everyone, even him. Somehow the load felt lighter. He wasn’t really even out of breath. Power to spare. No breakdowns. Everything was humming along nicely for Little Blue Engine King Uzziah.1
- “he did right in the sight of the Lord…”
- “he continued to seek God…”
- “God prospered him”
- “God helped him against his enemies”
- he received tribute from nations, built towers and fortifications, dug cisterns, increased livestock, cultivated the earth, prepared and outfitted an elite army, and invented engines of war.
- “his fame spread afar”
- “he was marvelously helped”
As he crested the hill it began to dawn on him—he really was the golden boy!
Picking up speed on the way down, and beaming from ear to ear, he didn’t pay attention to the first warning sign. It said, “he was marvelously helped until he became strong.”
Still gathering speed, he began to sing, “I knew I could, I knew I could… I am ‘da man, I am ‘da man…” So he didn’t see the next sign go by: “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God.”
It was already too late when he looked up and saw the curve. He hit the brakes hard but they weren’t made for these speeds. It was a dreadful crash. Made all the more sad because… it didn’t have to be.
Uzziah, you should’ve had these words taped to your windshield. You should’ve been memorizing and internalizing them on the way UP the hill: Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God… otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God… and you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 2
May God protect us from a proud heart.
2 Deuteronomy 8:10-18