THE OBSTACLE TO HUMILITY

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Humility is a healthy, godly sense of our merits, talents, and achievements. In the life of the believer, one thing stands as an obstacle to humility: pride. To think of oneself above others is the exact opposite of the humble mindset God calls His children to demonstrate (Phil. 2:3). Pride is deceitful in that we might not recognize it in our own hearts. Even more dangerous is the person who is proud on the inside and yet appears humble to others. But God cannot be fooled.

Our heavenly Father hates pride because He knows the destructive power it can have in our lives. When we are proud, what we’re really saying is that we know better than God. He places pride—“haughty eyes”—at the top of the list of seven abominations. That doesn’t mean that He hates the person who is prideful. God loves all of us. Because of that love, He despises anything that will bring harm to us.

Pride blocks our communication with God. Scripture tells us God opposes the proud (James 4:6), so we must recognize that such an attitude will affect communication with Him. We can’t expect the Lord to answer our prayers if we approach Him with a prideful heart. Our worthiness isn’t God’s basis for considering the prayer requests we bring; the fact of the matter is that we are not worthy. God instead responds to our need.

When we attempt to live in our own strength, we can expect God to ruin our successes (2 Chron. 26), ridicule our schemes (Ps. 2:1-5), and remove our status (Dan. 5). He wants us to renounce our pride before it destroys us.

InTouch Ministries