I was sad to learn recently of a former student who, despite having a "heart of gold", lost his way and died of a drug overdose. Due to the overprescription of opiate painkillers, not to mention the prevalence of illegal drug use in our society generally, these types of tragedies are becoming all too common.
When you hear similar news of someone you know . . . what is your response?
For many of us, in our "heart of (carnal) hearts" the first response is one of a condescending comparison.
"I am so glad my child would never do that. I raised her better than that. What in the world could the parents of that child have been thinking to have allowed that?"
And so forth...
Sound familiar?
God help us, sometimes we even SAY those pernicious, hateful, evil things to others, while feeling so GOOD about it!
{Peeeeyuuuuuh! (Pyuh! Pee-you!) . What a stench!}
The Bible calls this heart attitude, this response, "haughty eyes". Take a look ;)
16There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Proverbs 6:16-19
It is one thing to enjoy a quiet pride, a feeling of gratitude for what God has done for you and in your life. This is a pride firmly grounded in humility and thankfulness.
It is quite another to compare ourselves with others, looking down on them with condescension.
What do YOU hate? Consider the visceral, overwhelming disgust you feel for ... whatever it is. Generally speaking, it is different for each of us.
I'll tell you what all Christians ought to hate - - - and that is what God Himself hates. If we are seeking to align our hearts more with His, should we not align our loves and our hates with His also?
(Clue! He doesn't just hate other humans' sins. He hates ours too!)
If we believe this, we need to begin by cultivating a deadly hate for our own sinful pride.
Some1 have called haughty eyes "the gateway sin". Why?
I think it is because pride can creep into your life before you know it. Pride is the chief pitfall for the Christian who is walking in holiness before the Lord. Satan plants a thought in our minds that says, "Look how good you are!", for example. And, before long, we begin to believe it! We, accordingly, begin to trust more in ourselves and in our own abilities than we do in our only hope, in the only Savior. Consequently, because we are then so "full of ourselves", trusting in our own abilities, we fall prey to all sorts of other sins.
Galatians 6:4-5 The Message says this:
4-5 Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
I blogged in more depth on these verses here:
http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-entanglement-of-comparisons.html
May God save us from being overly impressed with ourselves! There's a lot of truth in this old saying: "There, but for the grace of God, go I."2
As my brother in the Lord, @stevengberman recently said, in a piece about Chris Pratt and Anna Farris:
"The 'holier than thou' perfume stinks to high heaven!"3
Sources:
1 https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/haughty-eyes-jeffrey-sims-sermon-on-pride-180365
2 http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/there-but-for-the-grace-of-god.html
3 http://theresurgent.com/in-separating-from-his-wife-chris-pratt-is-being-a-faithful-christian/
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