Things God hates

Things God hates

These six things the LORD hates, yea, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. – Proverbs 6v16-19

It is rare to read about things that God hates. I also don’t think this is an exhaustive list. But it is interesting to read a list of seven specific things that God says He hates.

The book of Proverbs is full of principles, and I think that is what we have here. The wonderful thing about Proverbs is that it gives us so many little thoughts and principles to consider, mull over, and contemplate. No one could claim that this is all of the sins that God hates, but it gives us some things that He does hate and a chance to think about the kind of things that are odious to Him. These things are good because they give us a chance to examine our lives in the light of some of God’s standards.

So what are these things that God hates? Two of them deal with lying. One is basic pride. Three of them deal with evil and violence. The last one deals with sowing discord. They run the gamut of our being, our hearts, our attitude, and our hands and feet. It is not enough just to avoid evil, God hates when we mull these things over and scheme to do them in our hearts.

There is too much to deal with in just one entry, so I want to pause on just one, the last one. God hates those who sow discord among the brethren. Sowing of discord is put in the same category as shedding innocent blood, running to do evil, and devising wickedness.

One theme that runs throughout the word of God is unity. The Old Testament speaks of our good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Whole books of the New Testament deal with unity. One of the purposes of the Lord’s Table is for us to dwell on unity.

And yet it seems like every time we turn around God’s people are finding something else to divide over. Sure, there is a need to maintain purity in the church. But let’s be careful that we are Biblical in our approach. Let’s be sure that in our strive for purity, we don’t do something that God hates.