by Jerry Senn
Have you considered your attitude lately? We take our meds and check our heart rate, we examine the contents of our blood and make sure our outward appearance is acceptable. But, when it comes to our attitudes, we can often fail to make a thorough and honest inspection – maybe we fear there’s something there that needs to be changed today.
In Proverbs 6:16-17 we find six things God literally hates. First on the list is “a proud look.” This writer goes on to say, “pride goes before a fall” and “pride will bring a man (or woman) low.”
So let’s take a minute to examine our inner selves to see if we detect pride of any sort.
- Does it irritate you when someone corrects you for your faults?
- Do you find yourself seeking praise for things you could not control?
- Do you usually make an excuse (or alibi) for your mistakes?
- Do you find it hard to seek help from others?
- Is your life characterized by a strong sense of competition?
- Do you have an ungrateful spirit, or perhaps grumble about what God has not yet given to you?
That’s pride!
“God made us, and God is able to empower us to do whatever He calls us to do. Denying that we can accomplish God’s work is not humility; it is the worst kind of pride… The proud man is possessed by things; the humble man possesses things and uses them for the good of others and the glory of God.”
—Warren Wiersbe
All these are indications of pride, that spirit of independence from God, of ingratitude, of competition that cause us to think of ourselves as somehow better than others, or that our needs/wants are of superior value.
When these things are true of us let’s remember that “He hates a proud look” because it comes from a proud heart.
Lord … where we are wrong,
make us willing to change, and when we are right,
make us easy to live with.
—Peter Marshall