Pride: Mess Around and Find Out (Proverbs 16:5)
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Proverbs 16:5
‘Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.’
Man. Whenever I see something described as an “abomination to the LORD,” my ears perk up, I sit straight up, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It’s like when we were kids, and our parents called us by a certain name—whether that’s our full name or a nickname—that let us know we were in serious trouble. You know the feeling.
This is the tone I feel when I read:
"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord."
Notice this says everyone, not just some people, but everyone who is proud in heart, is an absolute abomination to God. Everyone who holds pride in their hearts is seen as an abomination to God. As much as they are opposed to Him, He is opposed to them. O and what a scary thought - God being opposed to us.
And this sin, a sin so dangerous, is sneaky. It’s sneaky. Why? Because it deals with the heart. There are many professed Christians whose lives may look like an altar to the Lord, but inside their hearts are far from Him, their pride is palpable, and therefore they are an abomination to God. That’s scary to think about.
Of course this spirit of heart can take many forms too. Some are proud of their talents; some of their position; some of their looks; some of their good deeds; all of them forgetting what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:7 ‘What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?’
Whether these people consciously know it or not, they are an abomination to the Lord.
And the consequences? They’re as real as the warning:
‘Be assured, (they) will not go unpunished.’
Take Pharoah as an example: He boasted ‘Who is the Lord?’ in Exodus 5:2, thinking he was all high and mighty. And then a few chapters later we see Pharoah and his people wandering into the middle of a parted red sea, where they found out who the Lord was, let me tell you that. Pharaoh messed around and found out, as the kids say today. That red sea swallowed them up.
Now this principle holds for everyone who chooses arrogance over humility. Either you humble your heart or God will humble it for you. Either way, God will not stand the arrogant in heart.
Now here’s where I think we have to stop and ask ourselves: Where do we stand?
This verse forces me to take an honest look at myself. I know my own heart is deceitful above all things, which causes me to question it often. I feel these verses cause me to ask:
Am I arrogant in heart?
Is there any part of me that thinks too highly of myself and too little of God?
Does God look at my heart right now and see an abomination?
These are uncomfortable questions, but they’re vital ones.
And the good news is that asking these questions doesn’t have to and shouldn’t drive us away from God. Instead, they should draw us closer to Him. Proverbs 16:5 is a reminder of God’s lowly view of pride and consequently his high view of humility. This verse encourages us to reflect on our pride, confess it, and pursue a heart of humility that matches that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So I want you to ask yourself similar questions today:
Where is pride sneaking into my life?
In what ways do I need to confess pridefulness and humble my heart before the Lord today?
How can I cultivate a heart of humility and dependence on God rather than allowing pride to grow unnoticed?
Let’s pray for these things today.
