Our Gemara on Amud aleph discusses fours classes of people whose behavior leads to an alienation from the Shekhina:

אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בַּר אַבָּא: אַרְבַּע כִּיתּוֹת אֵין מְקַבְּלוֹת פְּנֵי שְׁכִינָה: כַּת לֵיצִים, וְכַת חֲנֵיפִים, וְכַת שַׁקָּרִים, וְכַת מְסַפְּרֵי לָשׁוֹן הָרָע.

Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba says: Four classes of people will not greet the Divine Presence: The class of cynics, and the class of flatterers, and the class of liars, and the class of slanderers.

What is the common theme uniting these behaviors and why do they cause such a result?  Michtav Me-Eliyahu ( https://www.daf-yomi.com/Data/UploadedFiles/DY_Item/344-sFile.pdf) explains that all four of these classes are in denial of such basic truths that their self deception disrupts their connection to the Shekhina.  The habitual liar obviously is in denial of the truth, the cynic pretends to be honest but has a chip on his shoulder, the flatterer is lacking in genuineness, and the slanderer stabs people in the back. Such people believe in themselves more than they believe in God, thus trade their morality for social or personal expedience.  This is what causes alienation from the Shekhina, because there is no room for God when there is no room for truth. 

 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation cool

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