Defiance

But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 2 Chronicles 26:16

You’ve probably encountered that guy (or girl) who is intoxicated, but who tries to convince everyone that he is not intoxicated. He’s probably slurring his words, perhaps stumbling around a bit, but he insists he’s sober. He’s not fooling anyone, but still, he remains belligerent and defiant – I’m not drunk! Nothing to see here! It’s embarrassing and he’ll probably regret his behavior in the morning, but right now, he insists he’s absolutely fine.

Though it didn’t involve alcohol, this is similar to the place King Uzziah found himself in today’s passage. Up to this point in the story, Uziah had followed God and thus, had enjoyed significant political and military success. His success however, caused him to become prideful and self-reliant. Though he had turned from God in his pride, he wanted to maintain an appearance of serving God, so he went to the temple to burn incense on the altar, which only the priests were allowed to do. Uziah was in the wrong and everyone could see it. In his defiance however, he became angry at those priests who tried to stop him. For his sin, God suddenly struck Uzziah with leprosy.

It isn’t always so obvious, but I think a lot of us have found ourselves in a similar situation. We’ve sinned and perhaps are still in the process of sinning, but still, we try to maintain an appearance of godliness. We should be throwing ourselves on God’s mercy, but instead, we defiantly strut before God and man, ignoring our hideous sin. I’m fine. Nothing to see here. Like the intoxicated drunkard, we’re not fooling anyone, but still, we try.

Our sin though, is serious business, angering God and distancing us from him. We may not lose our salvation when we sin, but we can and will suffer terrible consequences if we continue to defy God. If we desire to know a life of joy and peace and if we desire to avoid the destruction of Uzziah, when we sin, we should humbly ask forgiveness, and turn around, abandoning our sin. Our sin should offend us as it offends God. Instead of pretending to be religious, we should genuinely repent, doing whatever it takes to stop doing the offensive thing.