Have you ever met someone that was so full of themself that they sucked the air out of a room? Everything for them is well, about them and “their opinions” and “their accomplishment” that they feel everyone must highly respect.
Pride is a sin of attitude, heart, and spirit, much like covetousness. (See Romans 7:1ff.) Now, pride can be reasonable or justifiable self-respect, like taking care of yourself and faithful stewardship. But improper and excessive self-esteem, known as conceit or arrogance, is the pride we avoid. This is the one most often found in the texts of both the OT and the NT.
Pride cannot only bring the downfall of individuals, as we see in our text, but also of nations. Because of its deadliness, Israel is warned explicitly against pride and the tendency to forget God. (Deuteronomy 8:11–17) “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
Therefore, it is no surprise that pride is one of the seven things the Lord hates. It is at the top of His list. Proverbs 6:16–19 reads, “These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.
Remember, kingdom culture has no room for self-centered arrogance, which is never born out of love for God and others. In 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a, Paul says, Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
