Leonard Bernstein, the great orchestra conductor, was asked once,

what is the hardest instrument to play?

Without a moment's hesitation, he said, second fiddle.

He continued.

He said, I can find plenty of first violinists, but it is so hard to find a second fiddle who can play with enthusiasm.

He continues.

The problem is, if we don't find the second fiddle, we do not have harmony.

Now you can think about this for a long time, for a long time. Indeed, if we dig deep into

our hearts, we're going to find that at the very core of any sin, the very heart of any failure,

the very essence of conflict, there lurks pride and arrogance, There lurks wanting my way. There lurks the insistent of my opinion must be followed.

There lurks me, my, and mine. Regardless of the kind of sin, regardless of the conflict,

whether it will be at home or among friends or among brothers and sisters in Christ,

whatever it may be, regardless of the pain, you can trace the source all the way to pride. How many times have I heard, and I'm sure you did too,

where people say, swallow your pride. Just swallow your pride. And you and I know that it is nearly

impossible to swallow pride. It doesn't taste as delicious as an hors d'oeuvre.

Trust me, because pride can never be swallowed. In fact, it is easier to swallow the Pacific Ocean

than to swallow your pride. Pride can only be dealt with

one way, and that is to break it down into pieces and place it at the altar. In fact, Jesus,

with his sense of humor, he credited the Pharisees of being able to swallow a camel. But he never hinted

that you can swallow your pride. Not one time. And in 1st Corinthiansus chapter 10, particularly the

first 13 verses that we're looking at today, the apostle Paul is saying, as surely as day follows night, as surely as winter

follows fall, as surely as April follows March, as surely as these things are predictable,

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