“Six things God hates” (pride)
1)
Early in life people learn some things about the word
“hate.”
a)
Children learn how to pronounce this word and many also
learn to practice it.
b)
We have examples where people were taught to hate
someone else.
c)
Another may be taught to hate a certain activity or
food.
d)
As the years pass, a person may come to hate any number
of things.
e)
People are also taught to hate at different levels.
f)
In some cases “hate” means someone does not really like
something.
g)
For others, “hate” means that something is so awful it
needs to be destroyed.
2)
More than 80 times in an English Bible we can find the
word “hate.”
3)
One of these places is the scripture just read, Prov.
6.
4)
An Old Testament writer said there are “six things God
hates.”
a)
God is the author of all that is perfect and good (Jas.
1:17).
b)
If God “hates” something, it is not good – it is bad
and we might say “very bad.”
c)
A lot of people cannot envision the God of the Bible
ever “hating” anything.
d)
Prov. 6 says in the clearest possible way that there
are some things God hates.
5)
Beginning today we want to engage in a study of the
things that God hates.
6)
As we explore what is said in Prov. 6, we will find
that all that is listed here has a common thread.
7)
Every act in the list given by the Proverb writer is an
immoral act.
a)
The first thing God is said to hate is in the first
part of verse 17 is described as “haughty eyes.”
b)
Seeing these words together made me wonder if there are
“other types of eyes.”
c)
Last week I decided to run a quick Google search on
“types of eyes.”
d)
The first page that came up listed various types of
eyes.
e)
This page made reference to “close-set eyes” and
“wide-apart eyes.”
f)
It talked about “evenly spaced eyes,” “almond eyes,”
and “small eyes.”
g)
There was a discussion of hooded eyes, prominent eyes,
deep set eyes, and oriental eyes.
h)
The page I found was about beautifying whatever type of
eyes we have.
8)
Fashion and beauty are not under consideration in Prov.
6:17.
9)
God had in mind “haughty eyes.” Literally this means “eyes of loftiness.
a)
In various parts of the New Testament haughty eyes are
simply described as “pride.”
b)
Some have referred to this as “an inflated head.”
10) A
missionary was once trying to describe this sin in a foreign land and the
people did not understand.
11) No
translation was getting through to the people.
12) Finally
the missionary figured out how to adequately express the point.
13) He
used wording that said people had ears that were “too far apart” (i.e. an
inflated head).
14) Pride,
as this word is used in the Bible, is a problem for a lot of people.
a)
It affects people from all countries and races, the
rich and the poor, and all ages.
b)
Even our world has some understanding about the problem
of pride.
c)
We hear expressions like “looking down their noses at
us” and “too good for us.”
d)
“He is a know at all and cannot be taught anything.”
e) Sometimes the more a person
has the greater the temptation to be proud, but this is not always true.
1)
David was a great man and he recognized the potential
problems from pride.
2)
Ps. 131:1 has him asking that his heart not be haughty
and his eyes not be lofty.
3)
In the book of Proverbs we read about pride more than a
dozen times.
a)
In Prov. 8:13 we are told that those who “fear the
Lord” “hate evil, pride, and arrogance.”
b)
A person who chooses to be proud should expect shame
(Prov. 11:2).
c) Pride is associated with
contention in Prov. 13:10, and the writer could not have been more correct.
i)
Think of all the disputes that have come because a
person “was not respected.”
ii)
Someone thought they should be honored, respected, and
recognized for who they were.
iii)
People were proud and wanted others to make them feel
proud.
iv)
Because
someone did not receive the respect he thought they deserved, someone was shot
or beaten up.
v)
Pride is a cause of much senseless crime.
vi)
Pride has sent a lot of people to jail and prison..
vii) Prov.
28:25 (KJV) says a proud heart stirs up contention and this illustrated 24/7 in
our world.
4)
It is no wonder that Prov. 14:3 says pride is “in the
mouth of the foolish.”
5)
Also, in 15:25 of this book God “will destroy the house
of the proud.”
a)
When a person walks around “strutting his/her stuff,”
he may feel important.
b)
He may feel like he has arrived – he is someone who has
earned and deserves respect.
c) God says he hates that type
of mindset in a person and such a man should expect to be overthrown.
d)
If that does not happen in this life, people can expect
it to occur in eternity.
6)
Prov. 16:5 says pride is an “abomination” to God and
such people will not go unpunished.
7)
Most are familiar with Prov. 16:18 – “pride goes before
destruction.”
8)
This same verse says “and a haughty spirit before a
fall.”
9)
Pride is specifically called a “sin” in Prov. 21:4.
10) People
in the world (sometimes Christians) are “proud of their pride.”
11) If
pride is ever seen as a sin, it is usually regarded as a “small sin.”
12) It
is seen as something that God does not mind all that much.
13) Prov.
6 shouts to anyone who opens the pages of the Bible, pride is something God
HATES!
14) To
our way of thinking, pride may not be a bad thing.
a)
God says to us that His thoughts are not our thoughts.
b)
Our ways are not His ways (Isa. 55:8-9).
c)
God has stamped pride as a sin and an especially awful
sin.
d)
God did not put drunkenness in Prov. 6. Adultery is not there. Pride is on the list.
15) Based
on 1 Tim. 3:6, it seems pride was the first or one of the first sins to occur.
16) Satan
seems to have been interested in having a higher place that God intended for
him to have.
17) Man
had this same type of idea – he wanted to “know it all” (have a knowledge of
good and evil).
18) When
we look at Jesus coming into the world, we do not find sinful pride.
a)
He could have come and demanded that people worship
Him, but He did not do that.
b)
He could have claimed to be a great king and asked
everyone to serve Him. He did not do
that.
c)
As Paul said in Phi. 2:5-8, Jesus came to be a
servant.
d)
Jesus had plenty of self esteem, but no evil pride.
19) We
often think of pride as an individual problem and that is certainly true.
a)
God says pride is so powerful it can affect a nation.
b)
The southern section of Judah (Israel) was guilty of
pride (Jer. 13:9).
c)
Moab was guilty of pride (Jer. 48:29) as well as
Babylon (Jer. 50:29).
d)
We remember some specific things about Sodom, but what
about pride?
e)
Do we recall that this was a place people were proud
(Ezek. 16:49)?
f)
Egypt had a problem with pride (Ezek. 30:6) as did Edom
(Obad. 1:3).
g)
In addition to these nations we could list Philistia
(Zech. 9:6) and Assyria (Zech. 10:11).
20) There
is a sense in which we can have “pride” in America.
21) We
can look at our nation (or even ourselves) and be glad about certain things.
22) We
sometimes use the word “pride” to describe feeling good about self, our work,
or our nation.
23) This
feeling is not the evil sense of “pride” being discussed today.
24) Our
lesson looks at pride from the standpoint of a heart that is lifted up.
25) People
think too highly of themselves or a nation overestimates itself.
a)
Some ships have been thought to be virtually
indestructible.
b)
People have said things like, “this ship will never
sink.”
c)
This was evil pride and in some cases the ship sank.
d)
People could have rejoiced in the craftsmanship and
quality, but avoided sinful pride.
26) A
preacher from long ago (D. L. Moody) said “be humble or you will stumble.”
27) Another
noted how after a game of chess is over “the king and pawn go back into the
same box.”
28) This
is precisely right.
a)
Men are often filled with pride, but we should
ask: what can be the basis for pride?
b)
Whatever we have has come from God. We did not create ourselves.
c)
We cannot sustain ourselves.
d)
Our world often shouts “save the planet. We need to go green and save the world.”
e)
God has a message for people: He is in control of things. We are not going to save the planet.
f)
How arrogant for man to think that he controls his
future and destiny. This is the attitude
of pride.
g)
This earth will one day be destroyed by God.
h)
Whatever our accomplishments, they are no basis for
boasting.
i)
We can be faithful with what we have received or
unfaithful.
j)
Many are materially prosperous, but unfaithful with the
resources they have received from God.
k)
No matter how much a man gains, there is never a basis
for pride.
29) Imagine
a man who becomes the richest person who has ever lived.
30) He
can do whatever he wants; everything is within his reach.
31) He
may feel great pride and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
32) That man will one day
provide an answer for why he did not use his wealth according to the scriptures.
33) At
that time his pride in his earthly goods and fame will be a source of great and
eternal shame.
a)
John (1 Jn. 2:16) said there are three things that have
damaged a lot of people.
b)
There is the “lust of the flesh” and the “lust of the
eyes.”
c)
Item three is the “pride of life.”
d)
John says this pride is “not of the Father, but of the
world.”
e)
This pride is part of Satan’s kingdom, not God’s.
f)
When Paul listed some very vile sins in Rom. 1 he
included pride (Rom. 1:30).
34) Pride
is a very serious sin.
a)
It has caused people to get hung up on senseless
questions (1 Tim. 6:4-5).
b)
Pride can cause people to incorrectly judge the motive
of others (1 Sam. 17:28).
c)
It has caused people to tell lies (Ps. 119:69).
d)
It even has prevented some people from becoming
involved in church work.
35) Some
think they are “too good” for certain tasks.
36) In
Neh. 3:5 there were nobles – men who thought they were too important to help
rebuild a wall.
37) Jesus
was ready to “get His hands dirty” and such must also be true of us.
38) Satan’s
idea for man is: “better to reign in
hell” than serve in heaven. This is an
attitude of pride.
39) Satan’s
choice should make clear to us the danger of pride and the need to be servants
of God.
40) Are
we proud, or someone who is trying to humbly walk with and serve God?
41) This
choice is one deciding factor in where we will spend eternity.