“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 16:5 ESV
One irony of this proverb is that those who are arrogant often consider themselves to be an asset to God, someone God should be happy to have around. In reality, the opposite is true; arrogance is disgusting to God … and often to people, too. Speaking from experience, arrogance causes a blindness to one’s deficiencies. Perhaps the first sign of arrogance is the inability (or unwillingness) to recognize any flaws, weaknesses, or sin in our own lives.
Another irony in this proverb is related to the assurance of punishment. So often we have our own image of what punishment looks like and find ourselves wondering when is God going to punish that arrogant person. However, the punishment for being arrogant may come in a variety of forms, some of which we may have never considered. Therefore, we should not presume to dictate to God how he should mete out punishment lest God consider us to be arrogant. In other words, we should “stay in our own lane,” focusing on our own hearts.
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