Haughty Eyes

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

1.  Haughty eyes

2.  A lying tongue

3.  Hands that shed innocent blood

4.  A heart that devises wicked schemes

5.  Feet that are quick to rush into evil

6.  A false witness who pours out lies

7.  A person who stirs up conflict in the community

We have all heard of these famous seven things that the Lord hates, even calls detestable to Him. You might know them as the Seven Deadly Sins. Before we start, we need to be on the same page. These seven things are not only tangible and refer to literal behaviors, but more importantly, they reveal a person’s heart, their motives for living life.

As we go through them, keep referring back to your heart, because the Bible says that out of the heart the mouth speaks, and whatever is put into our minds, the Bible says, we will pour out. I pray that rivers of living water flow from you every day, and nothing else. For us to have the rivers of living water, we must roto-root out our hearts and minds. Therefore, you cannot do that without knowing what the Lord hates. It’s like understanding that you do not want spiders or roaches living in your house, yuck! Let us unpack the yuck and clean out our hearts. Let’s go.

First up is “haughty eyes.” The definition of haughty is “scornfully and condescendingly proud.” Scornful and condescending people are not the people we want to hang around with. They come across as nasty and hateful and make other people feel lower than they are, even making them feel less important. The first thing that comes to mind is a bully in school or a boss who rules rather than manages, using unpleasant words and actions.

Haughty eyes, if you will, are even worse. If your eyes are a window to your soul, then haughty eyes reveal your soul as well. If your heart is haughty, it got that way by not checking your eyes or what you see every day. Jesus looked at us as sheep that needed a shepherd, not as prisoners that needed a jailer. Your haughty eyes put people in a jail of guilt and scorn, holding their value in your actions.

Today, let’s practice removing haughty eyes from our faces and our hearts. Let us begin and end our conversations with grace and truth, removing haughty behavior from us. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” 2 Timothy 3:4 says this about haughty people: they are “treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Haughty eyes make your heart black with the stain of sin. Jesus says that He is the light of life, and if you have the love of Christ in your heart, you will glow with life.

Prayer: Father, today, help us remove haughty behavior from our lives. Help us clean out our minds and hearts from this sinful behavior. Lord, we pray that You fill us with Your love, Your truth, and Your grace, and help us show that to everyone around us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.