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Pride in the Temple

by Jerry Ousley  
2/28/2014 / Christian Living

Our building had been destroyed. Had we owned insurance to cover it the best thing to do would have been to declare it a total loss, tear it down, and rebuild; after all, it was a very old building anyway. But because we didn't have a security system, a technicality in our insurance declared that we had no coverage for a flood. Donations came in along with a couple of grants from the denomination we were members of, and the best we could do was to repair and remodel the old building.

A man in our congregation had construction experience and he accepted the position as head of the reconstruction project. Doing most of the work himself along with the few volunteers he managed to recruit, the work began. Most of the members of the congregation volunteered on cleanup day, and we did have several regular work days where most of the men and some of the women showed up to help (I might add that a good group of the women furnished food as well as labor). With only $18,000.00, the help of this man and all the others who furnished labor found us one year later opening our rebuilt structure.

I was a proud pastor. The people had done a very good job and we couldn't thank the man who had headed it up enough for all his sacrificial work. New carpet, in most cases, new walls, a new ceiling except for the frame of the building, the roof, and the exterior walls, in all respects it was a new building and it was beautiful. As I said, I was a proud pastor a little too proud. Remember that the Book of Proverbs tells us that pride comes before a fall. Well, need I say more?

After a few months and at the close of winter, heavy snows had blanketed our roof along with a few layers of ice. It began to thaw and melt. Suddenly ugly brown spots began forming on our brand new ceiling. The roof was leaking and leaking big time. It was coming through and permanently staining our beautiful new drop ceiling, so much that it was even leaving puddles in our new carpet! Every pot, pan and container we could find now occupied the floor catching the dirty, unwelcomed water. Digging into the upper ceiling revealed that the attic was not only soaking wet but in a couple of places actually displayed standing water! Now it was time for a new roof.

There was no way we could ask the brother who had sacrificed so much time already, to do it again and we really didn't have the money for a new roof after exhausting our funds on what we had already done. In short, we finally found a contractor we could afford and put together the money to pay him for a new roof. After it was finished we thought our woes were finally over but in places it still leaked. It took us nearly another year to get that settled and finally get him to fix his leaky job.

The Jews were also extremely proud of their temple. It was a magnificent structure. But their pride had replaced their worship. In response to their pride, as Jesus was given the grand tour, he looked past the beautiful building in front of Him and said, "These things which you see the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down" (Luke 21:6). What a pride buster! He blew the wind out of their sails.

Of course, Jesus was taking another opportunity to teach a valuable lesson. Our Lord is into temples, just not those made by men. Whether they are a shack or a multi-million dollar facility, they are merely the work of the hands of men, subject to destruction, decay, and rot.

The temples our Lord is interested in are those made by the hands of God. We are His temple. We can erect elaborate and magnificent buildings all in His name and dedicated to Him, but none are as beautiful as what exists in Heaven and none are more precious than us. He wants to put His presence in the temples that matter. He wants to be in us. Invite Him in today if you haven't already. Allow Him to fill your very soul with His glory, radiance and the warmth of His love.

If you've already done that, then taking inventory of your life, maybe it's time to clean out some cobwebs and rid it of dust. It is a magnificent temple and it will endure the test of time. Let Christ make His home in you and you won't have to worry about any of that old false pride in something that can never last anyway.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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