Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)
Jude 1:7 pleads with us to pay attention to history. I’ve heard it said that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. We are asked to remember the repercussions of the angels who, in their pride and rebellion, faced judgment for abandoning God’s way.
Pride, he reminded us, is the audacious declaration that God's wisdom is unnecessary and that our wisdom is much more important, personal and has greater purpose. Those who label themselves as progressive echo this very sentiment. They call themselves progressive because they assume their reasoning has progressed beyond the Bible and their feelings are more important than God’s laws.
Jude brought up Sodom and Gomorrah because their pride of progressiveness caused the entire city to be burned to the ground and entirely laid to waste. Why did God do that incredibly destructive act? Because the land itself had become contaminated. The sin and perversion of pride that pervaded Sodom and Gomorrah was spreading to the other cities nearby, and they were becoming just as evil as their neighboring towns.
What were these specific crimes against God? One is easy to tell, as the word sodomy that we know of today is derived directly from the name of the infamous city. The historical definition, from Webster's 1828 dictionary, classifies sodomy as a crime against nature. It is a fleshly act of personal pleasure seeking, fed by pride, that can severely damage a life and a community. The person who engages in sodomy forgets about the consequences of the fleshly act, and those consequences can destroy everything. It all begins with pride.
Pride destroys nations, pride destroys communities, pride destroys families, and pride destroys individual purposes. Get rid of it quickly and thoroughly.
Practical Application
The opposite of pride is humility. The best way to root out pride in our hearts is to find opportunities to serve others with no desire of recognition or praise.