12 "I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.
14 Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.
15 By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.
16 By me princes rule; Nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the eretz.
17 I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 With me are riches, honor, Enduring wealth, and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; My yield than choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice;
21 That I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries. [Proverbs 8:12-21 HNV]
In The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis, a senior devil urges his young protégé to divert a Christian’s thoughts away from God and focus instead on the faults of the people around him at church.
During a Sunday service, I found myself distracted and somewhat annoyed by a person near me who sang loudly off key and was out of sync during the unison readings. But when we bowed our heads for a time of silent prayer, it struck me that the Lord must surely be more pleased with that other person’s heart than with the judgmental feelings He saw in mine.
A few days later I happened to read Proverbs 8 and was struck by verse 13: “Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Throughout this chapter, wisdom calls to us to gain an understanding heart (v.5) and to find life and obtain favor from the Lord (v.35). The alternative is to go through life with a superior attitude while dying inside in the process (v.36).
Pride is a sword that wounds the person who uses it along with those against whom it is used. Arrogance robs us of all God longs to give us, but “by humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life” (22:4).
Oh, just a bit of Thy meekness, my Savior,
To be the least when of self I would boast;
Finding my glory and strength in Thy favor,
Know in my weakness Thy grace can do most. —Bosch
