Rev. Don Campbell
PSALM 97:10
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 11, 2019
“O YOU WHO LOVE THE LORD, HATE EVIL!”
PURYEAR PROCLAIMER
Those who, like David, are men and women after God’s own heart will love what God loves and hate what God hates. Solomon lists seventh things which God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). Over the next six weeks, we will look at these one by one.
God hates haughty eyes. Haughtiness is the opposite of humbleness: “For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down” (2 Samuel 22:28; Psalms 18:27). Haughtiness flows from an arrogant heart: “Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure” (Psalms 101:5).
The familiar parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector contrasts haughtiness and humbleness. Go to Luke 18:11-12 and circle the number of times the Pharisee used the word “I” in his resumé of righteousness which he tried to pass off as a prayer. If you count less than five, count again.
Another parable highlights haughtiness. The crop year had been favorable to a rich farmer and he said, “‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry’” (Luke 12:17-19). He used the word “I” six times and the word “my” five times.
Stuart McAllister wrote: “As we move from ancient mythology to modern times, we note that the past two hundred years in Western cultures have shown an increasing focus on the place of the individual, the role of choice, and the ‘demand’ to be personally happy at whatever cost. Moral and social restraints have been rejected, weakened, or targeted as instruments of oppression. Looking good and feeling good has replaced being good and doing good, and most people cannot tell the difference.
We’re told that nothing should hinder the life we want. The endless cycles of ‘reality TV’ shows invite us all to a feast of self-absorbed personalities who live to win no matter what. The outcomes, however, are somewhat suspect” (“Understanding and Dealing with Today’s Culture of Narcissism. Spring 2012 in “Knowing and Doing”).
If our heroes are narcissist, what does that say about us?
