The internet is abuzz with Kentucky's blowout of WVU last night. What makes this win so particularly interesting to the social media savvy is the trash-talking given out by WVU player Daxter Miles before the game.
I'm not going to jump on him and gloat. It's bad enough that these 18-year olds have a national following and their words are repeated more than most world leaders. I actually feel bad for them- higher levels bring higher devils and what is normal unwise bantering of a teenager, for them, becomes national and international news. I think if most of us think back to the stupid things we did or said when we were 18, or 19, or whatever, we would be very glad they weren't broadcast to a national audience and splashed all over the world.
However, Daxter Miles taught us a Biblical lesson yesterday.
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before a destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall." That was confirmed last night. Boy, did WVU fall. Even worse, Daxter Miles fell.
If he had just been another player who kept his mouth shut, it would have just been another win for the juggernaut UK basketball team. However, due to the statements made, it turned into something much worse. Why would Daxter Miles say the things he said against an obviously greater and better basketball team?
Well, pride does something to us. It gives us an untrue view of ourselves. Pride causes us to overestimate our abilities and underestimate the abilities of others. It causes us to continue a course that will destroy us even with everyone shouting at us to stop.
In the book of Exodus, God rained plague after plague on Egypt. Locusts, frogs, rivers turning to blood, cattle dying, hail, darkness- all of these things straight from God to convince Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free from slavery. Pharaoh wouldn't listen. His pride blinded him. His advisors begged him, "Let them go! Can't you see that Egypt is ruined?" His pride went before his mighty fall, and his destruction was complete.
Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We see pride in every area of our national life- in politics, with leaders failing to listen to constituents, continuing courses that are bankrupting and destroying our nation but still refusing to change; in the church, with pastors removing the word of God from their pulpits, watching their churches decline into nothingness as frustrated Christians abandon the pews but still refusing to change; husbands and wives lashing out at each other, refusing to repent or change, watching their marriages disintegrate before their very eyes, and the list goes on.
In each case, pride has given an untrue view of reality. Politicians, pastors, husbands, wives, Daxter Miles- all have untrue views of their human abilities. All are setting themselves up for a fall, like Miles did last night in the basketball game. When the fall happens, it is thorough and complete.
We in America would do well to learn this lesson. Pride will destroy you. Better to walk in humility and let your actions speak for themselves than to walk in pride and watch your words destroy you. Better to remain humble, quiet, and reserved than to boisterously proclaim your folly on the national stage. Let your actions be the statement, not your words.
One last word to my friends and fellow UK wildcat fans: do not make the same mistake as Dexter Miles. Gloating and rubbing an opponent's face in his own downfall is a sure way to make sure that it happens to you. WVU, because of its most recent win, had an overinflated view of itself. Don't let that happen to us. Also, remember that until Goliath fought David, he was undefeated. We are the Goliath of college basketball right now, and Goliath's pride was his undoing. Let us simply support our team, rejoice in their wins and successes, and nothing more. We won't remain undefeated forever. Sooner or later, we will lose. I'm afraid that if we gloat and mock when we win, people will gloat and mock when we lose. Let us win and lose gracefully and in the spirit of true competition, because pride goes before a destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall.
I'm not going to jump on him and gloat. It's bad enough that these 18-year olds have a national following and their words are repeated more than most world leaders. I actually feel bad for them- higher levels bring higher devils and what is normal unwise bantering of a teenager, for them, becomes national and international news. I think if most of us think back to the stupid things we did or said when we were 18, or 19, or whatever, we would be very glad they weren't broadcast to a national audience and splashed all over the world.
However, Daxter Miles taught us a Biblical lesson yesterday.
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before a destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall." That was confirmed last night. Boy, did WVU fall. Even worse, Daxter Miles fell.
If he had just been another player who kept his mouth shut, it would have just been another win for the juggernaut UK basketball team. However, due to the statements made, it turned into something much worse. Why would Daxter Miles say the things he said against an obviously greater and better basketball team?
Well, pride does something to us. It gives us an untrue view of ourselves. Pride causes us to overestimate our abilities and underestimate the abilities of others. It causes us to continue a course that will destroy us even with everyone shouting at us to stop.
In the book of Exodus, God rained plague after plague on Egypt. Locusts, frogs, rivers turning to blood, cattle dying, hail, darkness- all of these things straight from God to convince Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free from slavery. Pharaoh wouldn't listen. His pride blinded him. His advisors begged him, "Let them go! Can't you see that Egypt is ruined?" His pride went before his mighty fall, and his destruction was complete.
Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We see pride in every area of our national life- in politics, with leaders failing to listen to constituents, continuing courses that are bankrupting and destroying our nation but still refusing to change; in the church, with pastors removing the word of God from their pulpits, watching their churches decline into nothingness as frustrated Christians abandon the pews but still refusing to change; husbands and wives lashing out at each other, refusing to repent or change, watching their marriages disintegrate before their very eyes, and the list goes on.
In each case, pride has given an untrue view of reality. Politicians, pastors, husbands, wives, Daxter Miles- all have untrue views of their human abilities. All are setting themselves up for a fall, like Miles did last night in the basketball game. When the fall happens, it is thorough and complete.
We in America would do well to learn this lesson. Pride will destroy you. Better to walk in humility and let your actions speak for themselves than to walk in pride and watch your words destroy you. Better to remain humble, quiet, and reserved than to boisterously proclaim your folly on the national stage. Let your actions be the statement, not your words.
One last word to my friends and fellow UK wildcat fans: do not make the same mistake as Dexter Miles. Gloating and rubbing an opponent's face in his own downfall is a sure way to make sure that it happens to you. WVU, because of its most recent win, had an overinflated view of itself. Don't let that happen to us. Also, remember that until Goliath fought David, he was undefeated. We are the Goliath of college basketball right now, and Goliath's pride was his undoing. Let us simply support our team, rejoice in their wins and successes, and nothing more. We won't remain undefeated forever. Sooner or later, we will lose. I'm afraid that if we gloat and mock when we win, people will gloat and mock when we lose. Let us win and lose gracefully and in the spirit of true competition, because pride goes before a destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall.
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