We know that God is love (1 John 4:8), but that does not mean that God loves everything. Yes, He loves everyone, but He does not love everything. In fact, we know from God’s Word that there are some things that He hates. In Proverbs 6:16-19 we learn about seven of those things. We should be familiar with them, first of all, so that we can do our best to avoid them, but also, as Christians, we should hate whatever God hates.

God hates a proud look. Pride is more than mere self-respect. To be prideful is to have an inordinate amount of self-esteem that leads to disdainful behavior. It causes a person to be boastful and showy and to mistreat other people. Most importantly, it stops those who possess it from achieving or maintaining a relationship with God. Thus, God hates pride. Proverbs 16:5 tells us that, “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord.” We should not be surprised to learn that God will not endure a proud heart (Psalms 101:5).

God hates pride because He knows the damage it can do, first to the one who possesses it, and then to others who are around him or her. Pride has destroyed many local churches and wrecked many marriages. It has caused pain and sorrow in the lives of people who have to constantly put up with arrogance. Pride is always harmful to someone. No wonder the Bible tells us that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). This reminds me of Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 10:12 when he wrote, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he falls.” Here is the problem with having a proud look…It deceives a person into thinking he has no flaws and therefore needs no improvement in his life. It prevents a person from having a repentant heart because he does not see a need for it. Do you remember the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican? The Pharisee, the one who did not receive justification from God, was even arrogant in prayer (Luke 18:10-12). He thanked God for all that he was not, but he did not ask God’s forgiveness for what he was, that is, a sinner. He could not see that he was a sinner, only that he avoided a few sins that the publican committed. In contrast, the publican knew that he was a sinner, so he asked for and was granted mercy (ver. 14). We should all be humble enough to know that we have flaws and that we sin from time to time. If we deny this, it is only because pride has caused us to deceive ourselves. John said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Even worse, if we, because of an arrogant heart, deny that we have sinned, we make God a liar (1 John 1:10). It is easy to see why God hates pride.

Are you allowing pride to blind you to the sin that is in your life? Have you allowed pride to convince you that you are better than you are? Paul said, “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Galatians 6:3). Perhaps pride irritates God so much because He knows us so well. He knows that we have no reason to be prideful. In dealing with the prideful Corinthian church, Paul asked them what they had that they did not receive (1 Corinthians 4:7). That is a great question. Anything a person ever brags about is something for which he has had to rely on someone else to received. Do you brag about your knowledge? You could not have it without the help of teachers. Do you think highly of yourself because of the prestigious job that you have? You could not have it without the willingness of someone to hire you. There really is not anything we have that was not given to us. You say, I was born with great physical attributes. Maybe, but even they were given to you by God. In the end, we should be humbled by anything that we are or that we have because we have it all by the grace of God. When we forget that, it makes God mad, and He turns away from us (James 4:6).

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.