He hates haughty eyes
When I called them on it, they were mildly remorseful, sort of like they’d been busted for a speeding ticket.
But it was clear to me no one felt particularly convicted or determined not to go there again. So I decided to take them on a little journey through Scripture to see God’s perspective on the conversation we’d just had.
We started with Satan’s prideful fall and moved on from there.
But the shocker for most of them was a list of things God hates. It’s found in Proverbs 6:16-19. Right at the top of his I-hate-it-when-you-do-that list is “haughty eyes,” the disgusted and disdainful look of arrogance that parallels the harsh conversation we’d just had.
There are lots of things that can anger God. Few would guess looking down on others would be at the top of the list. Yet it is.
Now that got their attention!
But it’s true. Their dismissive and judgmental take on others wasn’t minor chitchat—it was major sin. Top-of-the-list sin.
I wrote Accidental Pharisees because I’ve become increasingly concerned many in our tribe are making the same mistake.
We strive to be at the front of the following-Jesus line. Yet the closer we get to the front, the more we’re tempted to compare ourselves with those in the back.
So here’s a brief list of six of the most telling indicators we may have inadvertently started down the road of an Accidental Pharisee, looking down on others and trusting in our own righteousness.
1. Disdain for those at the back of the line
Instead of a Jesus-like compassion for those who can’t keep up, we view them with a deepening sense of frustration, cynicism and a cocky arrogance.
2. A spirit of exclusivity
When thinning the herd becomes more important than expanding the kingdom, or raising the bar becomes more important than helping people climb over it, something has gone terribly wrong.
