Captivity and Pride

Yesterday I was reading Jeremiah 13 and was arrested by verse 15, which says, "Listen and give heed, do not be haughty, For the LORD has spoken." This reminded me of Proverb 6:16 & 17, which says, "There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood." (Yes, that's only three, so, if you want to know the rest of them, get your Bible or online, look up verses 18 and 19). What I want to focus on in this verse is not being haughty. Many years ago, I was in a church that, I'm sorry to report, was haughty. We thought we were the 'spiritual elite' and that most other churches were carnal and Laodicean. Well, that's 'real spiritual,' isn't it? What an oxymoron!

Anyway, after leaving that church (after the discovery that the pastor had been engaged in activity that was anything BUT spiritual or elite), and entering into the awareness of how sickeningly arrogant my/our attitude had been, Proverb 6:16 came to mind several times. Please note that of the seven things which the Lord hates, the very first one is haughty eyes. We do a lot of things (especially nowadays) rather haphazardly. If we made a list of seven things we hate, they might not be in the order that we hate the most to the least. Not so with the Lord! He listed haughty eyes FIRST because it's the thing He hates the most.

You might ask, 'The Lord hates haughty eyes more than lying and killing?' I'd say, 'Yes.' Why? Because haughty eyes equals PRIDE. Does not lying and killing come forth from pride? Most of our lying is to either cover up a wrong or to make ourselves look better in another's eyes. This is pride. Killing is extreme pride! Unless it's self-defense, what makes you think you have the right to take another's life? That is God's place and His alone!

So, I repented of looking down my nose at other believers (and unbelievers) with haughty eyes. And I prayed that the Lord would put His love in my heart for others instead of my conditional, shallow love. Which makes me think of another verse I'd memorized many years earlier...Matthew 5:⁴⁶ "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" Ouch...
 
Well, I've since been delighted at how He has answered my prayer. I'm still far from perfect in this realm of my spiritual walk, but it's SO MUCH better! And, there is an 'overflow' that results from this...others I (choose to) love, love me back!!! WOW! Such a deal! Don't tell me God isn't cool, ok?
 
But, if you glance back at my title for this post, I mentioned captivity. The first Scripture I mentioned was Jeremiah 13:15, but let's go on to verse 17. (I'd show verse 16, too, but this is getting lengthy. It'd be worth your time to look it up). But if you will not listen to it, My soul will sob in secret for such pride; And my eyes will bitterly weep And flow down with tears, Because the flock of the LORD has been taken captive. Wow...read it again. What is the end result of pride? CAPTIVITY!
 
You might think this is presumptuous on my part, but, having been held captive by pride, I say it's not and I'm trying to get you to see this in His Word. After all, just because I believe or say something doesn't make it true. But His Word is ONLY truth. Indeed, Truth is one of His names. Did He not say, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life?" in John 14:6? (The answer is 'yes').
 
So, my friend, let's not allow ourselves to be blinded any longer to our captivity if we wallow in pride and try to justify it. The One Who created us and redeemed us didn't allow Himself to be crucified merely to save us from Hell, but to save us from captivity and pride. (Can you say, 'Sanctification?') He longs for us to be captive only to Him...and we can't do that if we're captive to anything else. And, even in our captivity, we can be blind to the fact that we are! The best thing to do is ask Him to show us any captivity in our lives, then, as He faithfully shows us, ask Him for His deliverance from it. This is what He's been waiting for! He has blessings for us that are much better than what we are grasping in our hand(s) if we'll only let go.  In His Love, Lois