Pride

“These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A PROUD LOOK, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” (Proverbs 6: 16-17).
The Lord hates a proud look because it is outward evidence of an inward sickness. Pride is a disease that consumes our very souls. It affects everything: how we perceive God, how we interact with Him, how we treat our fellow man, how we respond to difficulties in life and how we think of ourselves more highly than we should. A proud look reveals that we feel that we are better than others. This attitude angers God, because in doing so, we exalt ourselves above others. Make no mistake, the Lord said that He will abase those that exalt themselves and exalt men who humble themselves. (Matthew 23:12). Jesus spoke these words to the Pharisees, who considered themselves to be the religious and holy elite of God. However, Jesus called them hypocrites, fools, blind, serpents and generations of vipers-among others names. Oftentimes, our perception of who is holy and God’s viewpoint is strikingly different. “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7). God knows if we are truly humble in heart or if we have false piety. Godly men, the Lord hates a proud look. Pride will prevent us from becoming the men He intends for us to be. Pride will keep us from treating others with grace and mercy, and it will cause us to keep our eyes focused on ourselves instead of on the Lord.