Four detestable things in the eyes of God

Proverbs 30:11-14 (NASB)

There is a kind of man who curses his father and does not bless his mother. There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness.  There is a kind--oh how lofty are his eyes!  And his eyelids are raised in arrogance. There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords and his jaw teeth like knives, to devour the afflicted from the earth and the needy from among men.

This passage describes four detestable things in the eyes of God.  Each detestable thing is prefaced by the phrase “There is a kind of man……..”

·  Who has contempt for his parents (curses his father and does not bless his mother)

·  Who is self-righteous (pure in his own eyes)

·  Who is arrogant (lofty eyes, lifted eyelids)

·  Who cannot control his tongue (puts down the afflicted and needy)

The Hebrew word for “kind of man” is “dor” that means “generation”.  Such was the generation that caused God to flood the earth in Noah’s day.  Such a generation will come again (II Timothy 3:1-5).  Every older generation thinks that the next generation or two fits these descriptions.  Only God knows. 

God through His Word makes it absolutely clear that you are never to dishonor your father and mother or there are severe consequences.  A person who cursed his father or mother, thus breaking the 5^th commandment, was put to death in Old Testament times (Exodus 21:17). How about what Proverbs 30:17 says—“The eye that mocks a father and scorns a mother, the ravens of the valley will pluck it out and the young eagles will eat it”.  Mocking and scorning are signs of disrespect of authority and elevation of oneself as superior.  An eye that mocks and scorns is an eye that is rebellious and filled with pride and God will eventually destroy such an eye if it is not corrected.  All children need to realize how serious God is about honoring their parents and never showing attitudes of mocking and scorning.  All parents need to be on guard for these potential signs and attitudes in their children and correct them immediately. 

The self-righteous person is who Jesus called blind and full of sin (Matthew 15:14, John 9:40-41).  The Bible is full of verses that speak of God’s hatred of pride and arrogance (e.g. Proverbs 8:13, 16:18, Mark 7:20-23, I Peter 5:5, I John 2:15-16).  And the Bible has even more warnings about an uncontrolled tongue (e.g. Psalm 10:3-7, Proverbs 6:16-19, 15:2,4,7, James 3:2-6). 

Do you think that these verses are speaking of four different kinds of men or that the same person displays the four behaviors?  Well, keep in mind that it is referring to a generation and such a generation will exhibit all four behaviors.  Yet, of course, every generation has its share of these kinds of behaviors.  I think of the word “obnoxious” to describe an individual or a group or a generation that acts like this. 

The motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, said something interesting about obnoxiousness.  He said that obnoxious behavior very well might be a cry for help.  This perspective might help you if you dealing with such a person.  As Christians, not only we need to love others no matter how obnoxious they are, but we also need to be careful that we ourselves do not act obnoxiously.  You may think that Christians never act obnoxiously, but I beg to differ.  Think of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time.  Yes, Christians can act as arrogantly and obnoxiously as unbelievers and, of course, such behavior significantly damages the reputation of the Christian faith.

How do you guard against these arrogant and obnoxious behaviors creeping into your life?  As Jesus preached, first remove the log in your own eye, then you can deal with the speck in your neighbor’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5).