141. Pride And Punishment, Love And Fear (Proverbs 16:5-6)

8/6/2023

Turn with me to Proverbs 16:5-6. These are our verses to study and memorize this week.

Proverbs 16:5-6 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. 6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

Introduction

When we began chapter 16 we noted that in the first 9 verses all but one of them specifically refer to the Lord. They quite intensely focus on God’s sovereignty over the plans and ways of mankind.

From verse 1 we learned that the wise person seeks out the right answer from the Lord as they plan. But in verse 2 we saw that with our sinful flesh we will tend to justify and excuse ourselves for our sin. Since God will judge us and our motives we need to humbly let the truth of God’s Word—with its evaluation of right and wrong— truly reveal our sin for what it is. Then in verse 3 we saw that when we align our life and purpose with God’s purpose for us our way is established. Therefore we must continually commit our plans and lives to Him. We should trust Him for what is right and best. From verse 4 we saw another very important reason for going to God’s wisdom for our way of life. God has Himself designed everything for a reason and will accomplish all His purposes for His creation.

Thus we have seen the importance of being teachable, of humility, of trusting the Lord, and of living in the fear of the Lord. We saw that without truly fearing the Lord we will not gain wisdom. We may have knowledge of facts, but without the fear of the Lord we will not live in light of Him in all that we do. Our current verses expand on these truths. Let’s take a look now at verses 5 and 6.

5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

God hates those who are proud. He will punish them.

As Solomon highlights God’s sovereignty and our accountability to Him he returns to a theme that he has touched on before in Proverbs 8:13.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

God hates pride. If we live in light of who God is, we will not tolerate it in our lives. We will hate it.

Looking back to the first parts of Proverbs 11:20-21 we can also see the foundation of our current proverb being laid. Notice the similarities.

Proverbs 11:20-21 “The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their walk are His delight. 21 “Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.”

In our verse Solomon combines the first parts of those two verses and tweaks them. He goes from the broader “perverse in heart” to the more specific “proud in heart.” The perversity of pride will definitely reap God’s judgment. By more specifically honing and repeating these truths here Solomon emphasizes that it is a foundational truth that we need to remember as we look at the rest of the verses in these chapters. Many of the coming verses will not explicitly mention God, but they are all intended to be read and understood as being in light of Him. If we disregard them we will be pridefully disregarding God and exalting ourselves against Him.

Since those who are proud in heart are an abomination to the Lord and God has Solomon take time to emphasize this, it is important that we understand what exactly pride is.

Pride is exalting our way over God’s way. It is saying by our words, actions, or attitudes that we know better than God, that our way is better than His, that He is wrong and we are right, and that sin is good and righteousness is bad. Pride, in one way or another, is a root motivation behind all other sin.

Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see examples of this all over. Satan did this against God in his rebellion against Him. He wanted God’s place. He wanted to be God, to have the worship God alone deserved. (Revelation 12:7-10, Ezekiel 28:11-19, Matthew 4:8-10) Adam and Eve did this against God in eating the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. They wanted more than what God had given them. They thought disobeying Him would bring them something better than what God had provided (Genesis 3:6-7).

We do it when we worship the pursuit of pleasure or money or power or any thing instead of God. We pridefully exalt our way over God’s way and despise Him whenever we speak God’s name in vain, when we do not find our rest and purpose in God, when we dishonor our parents, when we murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet.

We pridefully exalt our way over God’s way and despise Him when we defy God’s standards for marriage and morality through adultery, through any sexual relationships outside of marriage, through so-called gay marriage, through pornography and its coveting lusts, through transgenderism with its defiance of who God made us to be, through pedophilia, through bestiality, and through any other departure from God’s plan in Scripture for our sexuality and morality.

All of these things are an exaltation of our own desires, thoughts, and plans over God’s direct, clear declaration of what is right and what is wrong. That is pride and it makes us an abomination to God. He is completely disgusted with every single person who exalts themselves against Him. He created us. He designed a perfect, good purpose for us and we go directly against them and Him. This proverb assures us that all of our sin will receive what it deserves. It will be paid in full. God will punish the proud. How?

Because of Satan’s prideful rebellion against God he was kicked out of heaven and the lake of fire was made for his eternal judgment. (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10, 13-15) Because of Adam and Eve’s prideful rebellion against God they were kicked out of the garden of Eden, they and this world were cursed, and they died spiritually. Physical death also resulted from their sinful pride. (Gen 2:17; 3:16-24; 5)

As descendants of Adam and Eve we all likewise have exalted our way over God’s way. Unless our sin is paid in full by faith in Jesus we too, like Satan and his demons, will all end up in the lake of fire as Revelation 20:11-15 makes clear. It is just as this proverb proclaims, “assuredly [the proud] will not be unpunished.”

Proverb in Comparison: Throughout Scripture these truths remain constant. God finds our hearts of pride against Him to be an abomination which He punishes. Nebuchadnezzar learned this the hard way when God took away his ability to think and reason. Despite being warned by God he continued to pridefully exalt himself. After 7 years (or seasons of time) God restored his mind and authority to him. Daniel 4:37 records what he said after learning this lesson the hard way:

Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

The pride of man cannot stand against the judgment of God. God judges pride repeatedly throughout history, and will continue to do so until He judges the whole world. We see this pattern in Scripture where God fulfills the truth of this proverb. Take a look at Jeremiah 48’s pronouncement on Moab’s pride.

Jeremiah 48:25-30, 35 “The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the LORD. 26 “Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 “Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn. 28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the crags, O inhabitants of Moab, And be like a dove that nests Beyond the mouth of the chasm. 29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab—he is very proud—Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation. 30 “I know his fury,” declares the LORD, “But it is futile; His idle boasts have accomplished nothing. … 35 “I will make an end of Moab,” declares the LORD, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.

Pride is an abomination to God. He will judge it. In Ezekiel 32 God used Babylon to judge Egypt’s pride.

Ezekiel 32:11-15 For thus says the Lord GOD, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. 12 “By the swords of the mighty ones I will cause your hordes to fall; all of them are tyrants of the nations, And they will devastate the pride of Egypt, And all its hordes will be destroyed. 13 “I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters; And the foot of man will not muddy them anymore And the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them. 14 “Then I will make their waters settle And will cause their rivers to run like oil,” Declares the Lord GOD. 15 “When I make the land of Egypt a desolation, And the land is destitute of that which filled it, When I smite all those who live in it, Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

This judgment upon pride is what has happened in the past, and it is what will happen in the future. Listen to what God says in Isaiah 2.

Isaiah 2:11-22 The proud look of man will be abased And the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased. 13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, 14 Against all the lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, 15 Against every high tower, Against every fortified wall, 16 Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the beautiful craft. 17 The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols will completely vanish. 19 Men will go into caves of the rocks And into holes of the ground Before the terror of the LORD And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble. 20 In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, 21 In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs Before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble. 22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?

God alone deserves exaltation. Mankind has no reason whatsoever to exalt themselves against God, their creator. Everything good that we have is from Him. It is the height of folly to exalt ourselves against God. Yet, we do it time and time again. The outcome will always be the same. Isaiah 13 provides another sobering picture of what God will do.

Isaiah 13:6-13 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt. 8 They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. 12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger.

God will put an end to the arrogance of the proud. Yet, there is hope for those who humble themselves before Him and turn in faith to Him for His way of redemption. Listen to what Zephaniah 3 describes.

Zephaniah 3:8-13 “Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal. 9 “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder. 10 “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings. 11 “In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain. 12 “But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD. 13 “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble.”

All the earth will be devoured by the fire of God’s zeal when He destroys all of the proud ones. The only hope that any of us have is to turn from our pride, humble ourselves before Him, and trust Him to be our Lord and Savior through His redemption in Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament Jesus reiterates this reality.

Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (also in Luke 14:11 and Luke 18:14)

In the epistles it is stated similarly:

James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” (See also 1 Peter 5:5 and Proverbs 3:34)

In 1 John 2:15-17 John gives us a succinct warning, reminder, and encouragement related to pride.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Truth in Connection: The bottom line is that God hates pride. It is abominable to Him. It will earn His punishment. It will be destroyed. It is only those who humble themselves before God and trust in the wisdom of His redemption who will be rescued from this judgment.

If you are an unbeliever this means there is no hope whatsoever in the path of life that you are on. It is only a matter of time before God deals with your prideful exaltation of yourself against God. Every time that you sin against Him and defy His standard of right and wrong He sees it. None of it goes unnoticed. Humble yourself and turn to Jesus before it is too late. That is the only hope there is for any of us. Our sinful way of life will not somehow turn out alright in the end. That is vain, wishful thinking. When we consider who it is that we are defying there is simply no way that we will be able to get away with it. He is sovereign. He is just. He is all-knowing. He is all powerful. He is our Creator. He is God.

For the believer, this truth should be an ongoing sober reminder not to turn back to the world’s way of doing things. It only leads to ruin, destruction, and punishment. We must not love the world with its prideful rebellion against God. No good will ever come from allowing ourselves to think and live as if we know better than God. He will discipline and correct us when we treat Him in this evil way.

The reality is that we are tempted to exalt our desires and thoughts above God’s perfect and good plan for our lives at nearly every turn. It is the way that the world lives. So we will be bombarded with these temptations from them continuously. On top of that, our flesh will yearn for the pleasures of sin. We must remember that sin will never lead to what is truly good, right, and best for us. It is not sin which can give us what is good. Rather, it is God who is the source of every good and perfect gift that we will ever experience (James 1:17). Therefore, we ought to continuously go to Him by His Word to find out what is right, what we should do, how we should live, what is bad for us, and what is good for us. His purpose and design for everything is what we need. We need His wisdom.

Are you going to Him for the wisdom that you need for every part of your life? Are there any areas where you have capitulated and are buying into the proud lies of the world that their way is best and that you need it? Their movies, their music, their games, their power, their pleasure, their pursuits are all enticing people to be made idols. Has materialism with its endless rat race of always striving for bigger and better things deceived you into thinking that is the purpose of your life? Has the world’s pleasure and entertainment deceived you into living for the next big (or little) experience? Are there certain commands of God that you are disregarding? Are you living for God’s kingdom, or for this world which will be destroyed by God?

We must daily humble ourselves before God, trust Him that His way is best in every area, and walk in obedience. We need to remember what He has redeemed us from. Our sinful pride will only reap destruction.

Our next proverb guides us into where we can find atonement from our sinful pride and how we can stay away from going back into it. Look at verse 6.

6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

Real atoning faith in God’s redemption is guided by truth and results in living by faithful love. Additionally, it is the fear of the Lord which protects us from further sin.

Proverbs are pithy, thought-provoking statements that are full of invaluable wisdom. Their truths are uncovered through careful consideration. This proverb is no exception. Coming after our previous proverb, where we see that our pride is an abomination to the Lord which will receive His punishment, the natural question that arises would be if there is any hope of redemption from His judgment. This proverb tells us “yes.” But it does it in a way that really provokes consideration.

If read quickly, outside of its context here in Proverbs or in the rest of Scripture, it could almost seem that if we do some good works we could atone for our evil and earn God’s forgiveness. That is not what is going on here at all.

Proverb in Comparison: From the rest of Scripture we know that good works do not balance out our sin. The wages of sin is death, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin as Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:22, and Leviticus 17:11 emphatically tell us.

God also makes it very clear in places like John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 that there is salvation from sin in none other than Jesus Christ. There is no other way to the Father. Similarly, Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5 specifically emphasize that our good works cannot bring atonement. On our own, all of us are unclean. As Isaiah 64:6 pointedly declares, even our righteousness is as filthy rags! Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) concurs: our hearts are “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” Thus, on our own, none of us have any of that “lovingkindness and truth” which Proverbs 16:6 talks about.

The only way that we can be forgiven is through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection providing us full and complete atonement for our sins. Jesus described what He did on the cross this way in Matthew 26:28, “this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

Since we cannot atone for our own sin and Jesus died to do it Himself, the question then is how do we receive that forgiveness and gain lovingkindness and truth? Luke 24:46-48 puts it this way as the mission of the church is laid out:

Luke 24:46-48 and He [Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You are witnesses of these things.

As he proclaimed Jesus, Paul succinctly boiled it down in Acts 16:31 — “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” To be saved, we repent, trusting in what Jesus did in our place on the cross. We must be given His atonement and receive it by faith. We must believe God’s promises. As we trust Jesus, God brings us into His covenant and, as Hebrews 9:14 says, the “blood of Christ” cleanses our conscience’s “from dead works to serve the living God.” God then sees our sin as paid in Jesus, and He sees Jesus righteousness as imputed to us and coming from us (Romans 5:19-21).

Notice what that verse in Hebrews 9:14 says. Being in this covenant of God results in us serving the living God. When we truly believe in God’s way of redemption it affects the way that we live. In Christ we are a new creation. Jesus gives us His truth and lovingkindness. His rivers of living water are implanted within us (John 7:38, cf. also John 4:10-11). We are to then walk in that truth. We are to live by the law of love. By our love for one another all men will know we are Jesus’ disciples as John 13:35 declares. This truth and love is an outward testament of the inward atoning reality that has occurred.

Coming back to Proverbs in the Old Testament, the full reality of Jesus’ coming and atonement was of course not yet known. But the same foundational truth of faith in God’s way of redemption producing love and truth are still there. In the larger picture of Proverbs this exact Hebrew expression of “lovingkindness and truth” is found earlier in the foundational verses of Proverbs 3:3-7.

Proverbs 3:3-7 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. [and how do you get that and have that kindness and truth?] 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

We cannot save ourselves. We cannot perfectly live in kindness and truth on our own. The law reveals that with our inability to perfectly keep it and with the continual necessity of all the animal sacrifices. Time and again we all fall woefully short of lovingkindness and truth.

Thus, just like with Adam and Eve, Abraham, and everyone else down through history we have to trust in the Lord and His way of redemption. Hebrews 11 looks back and verifies that reality in the Old Testament. It points out how redemption has always been by faith in God’s way of redemption.

As we trust in God, He gives and enables His lovingkindness and truth to be expressed in our lives. God works His atonement in us as we are imputed the righteousness of Jesus. We become righteous and begin living righteously. Without faith it is impossible to please God as Hebrews 11:6 tells us. But by faith, through the working of God, we can live out that lovingkindess and truth. Only when we are righteous in God’s eyes are we reconciled to Him and our sin atoned for. Thus from the earlier context of Proverbs 3 we can see that the lovingkindness and truth comes from trusting in the Lord. That is what will protect us from the destruction that our pride deserves (Proverbs 16:5).

Beyond the broader context of earlier in Proverbs, we also see this in the specific words of Proverbs 16:6. The word for loving-kindness there is “Chesed.” “Chesed” is the word for a covenant, faithful, kind of love. Thus in the context this is not just a generic word for being kind to other people in some way that we can drum up within ourselves. This is a kind of belief that is seen in one’s loyal, faithful behavior. It is actions based on one’s covenant relationship with God.¹ It results from faith. With the addition of “truth” here it is reiterated that this iniquity can only be atoned for by being in line with truth—with the truth of God and His way of redemption.

In Solomon’s day—just like in James’ day and our own—many people claimed to believe in God. They may even have had a kind of faith about Him. Yet that does not necessarily mean that their sins were atoned for before God. Where is the difference? This proverb tells us. Trust in God’s way of atonement is seen through one’s real life actions with one another. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” as an old expression puts it (often shortened to “the proof is in the pudding”).

James expressed it this way in James 2:14, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” The answer to that is obviously “no.” That kind of faith is empty and dead. It is as worthless as the kind of belief that the demons have about God. They know of His existence and acknowledge it, but they are not saved by that kind of faith. Real atoning faith is seen in the lovingkindness and truth that is produced. Do you have this kind of faith?

The second part of our proverb adds a very natural and fitting conclusion to the first part. “By the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” The fear of the Lord—living in light of who God truly is in relation to our sin and His redemption—results in an ongoing changed life in relation to evil. It protects us from it. It causes us to flee it and resist it. We are not perfect, but we have a changed life towards people and towards sin. Where we used to be a slave to sin we are no longer. Where we used to pursue it, we now flee it and pursue God’s righteousness. The fear of the Lord produces a desire in us to live righteously and do whatever it takes to stay away from evil. We metaphorically cut off the hand or pluck out the eye that is causing us to stumble (Matthew 18:8-9). We fear God and the discipline that sin brings more than the temporary pleasure it might bring. We trust that God’s way is best and it keeps us from sin.

Scriptural Example: When we think back in Scripture for illustrations of this Proverb we realize that all those who trusted in God are examples of it. But for one concrete example, think of Job. God said about him in Job 1:8 that he was “a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” That did not mean his good works atoned for his sin and earned him God’s forgiveness. Rather his actions showed the reality of where his trust was. We know this, because in Job 1:5 we see that he used to make sacrifices for his children for any sins they might have committed. Job fully recognized that he and everyone else needed God’s way of redemption. Otherwise he would not have made those sacrifices. His trust was in God’s way of salvation and forgiveness. That was then seen in his actions which resulted. The lovingkindness and truth he exhibited were proof of the atonement and changed heart that he had.

Beyond that, his fear of the Lord also kept him from sin. Even after all the catastrophes happened he would not curse God and die. He guarded his tongue from sin. In chapter 31 he defended the reality of his loyal love towards God and people when he was accused of all manner of evil by his friends. He was not perfect but his atonement was visible in the character of God that was evident in his life. As was mentioned in that chapter, his fear of the Lord was evident in the way it kept him from defrauding his servants, from being unfaithful to his wife, from mistreating the orphan and widow, from becoming greedy, from worshipping idols or God’s creation, from harboring vengeance and hatred in his heart, etc.

All true believer’s lives are changed. That can be seen in the way that they reflect and live out God’s righteousness, lovingkindness, and truth. Granted, it is often imperfectly done as can be seen by the lives of those listed in Hebrews 11. But there was still indeed always something there which showed they were a new creation. God’s lovingkindness shone forth from them.

Truth in Connection: What about our lives? Do we live with people in lovingkindess and truth? Is there any fruit to our claim that we are reconciled to God? That fruit is the true evidence of the reality of our faith and of our atonement from our sin. We cannot keep treating people in an evil way when we are being forgiven by God of our evil. As Jesus put it on multiple occasions, if we will not forgive others, He will not forgive us (Matthew 6:12-15, 18:23-35; Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4). Real faith has real results because real redemption brings real righteousness. That faith is not dead. The fear of the Lord results in a changed life in relation to other people. We love our neighbor as ourselves, even when he might be our enemy (Matthew 5:43-44). We keep morally pure, even when sin would feel good. We respond in gentleness and love, even when revenge for evil would be so sweet to our flesh. All of that proclaims the reality of our faith and of our relationship with God. Do you truly know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Are you trusting Him and Him alone for your atonement? Has His empowering and transforming love been made alive in your life? Or do you just know about God? Have you truly turned from your prideful, self-exalting defiance of God to humbly receiving Jesus’ atonement on your behalf? Empty words will not save us. Trust Jesus today. That is the only way we will not personally pay in full for our prideful sin against God.

If you have trusted in Him, are you living in the fear of the Lord? That is the only way that we will be protected and kept from evil. Are you cutting out of your life those things which are leading you back towards pridefully choosing your way over God’s way?

Are you continuing to show lovingkindness to others and walking in the truth of God’s Word? That is the life that God has saved us to from the destructiveness of our pride. Do not follow the world’s way of doing things. Right now our society and world is very much focused the pursuit of pleasure and on vengefully repaying evil for every wrong or perceived wrong. Our nation and world is very divided. People and nations war against each other verbally and physically. People and nations lust, covet, murder, slander, fight and quarrel. Pride reacts against pride and destruction is the consequence even before God’s final judgment of it. As Christians we ought to have no part in that. We are to be pure in word and action. We are not to slander or revile or be evil towards any person for any reason. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into how the world lives, how they do politics, or how they deal with disagreements.

Instead, always lovingly consider how you can point people to the truth of the gospel with your words and your actions. That is the only change that will bring real change from the sinful pride that is destroying people’s lives. And when people truly trust in Jesus it will bring a recognition of the wrongness of their sin which pridefully exalts itself against God. All along the way as we live and interact with people we must continue to recognize and fight against our own flesh’s tendency to react and live by pride. We must allow God’s Word through His Spirit to continue to transform our lives into showing forth the excellencies of His glory. That will always be expressed in humility, lovingkindness, and truth. May we never forget that “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” God has no room for our pride in His kingdom.

Conclusion

If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.

© 2023, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org