Proverbs 6:16-19
The word “hate” gets thrown around pretty casually. I hate traffic. I hate mosquitoes. I hate when I get comfortable on the couch and realize the remote is six feet away. I hate when the person in front of me at the grocery store waits until everything is scanned before beginning the complicated process of locating their wallet. When the Bible tells us there are things God hates, that gets my attention.
Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things the Lord hates, no, seven things he detests” (NLT). Then Solomon gives us the list: “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.”
That is a pretty serious list. But what strikes me is that God is not simply giving us seven random rules to avoid. He is showing us seven things that reveal what is happening inside a person. Pride. Dishonesty. Violence. Scheming. Running toward what is wrong. Lying about others. Creating division between people. God cares deeply about our character.
Sometimes it is easier to focus on the big, obvious sins. We look at our lives and think, “Well, I haven’t killed anybody today, so I’m doing pretty well.” But this list gets uncomfortable quickly. Have I been proud? Have I stretched the truth to make myself look better? Have I secretly hoped someone would fail? Have I participated in a conversation that created division instead of peace? Suddenly, the list feels a little closer to home.
That may be the hardest part of passages like this. I can read Proverbs 6 and immediately think of three people who desperately need to read Proverbs 6. Apparently, I have the spiritual gift of identifying everyone else’s character problems. Jesus keeps bringing the conversation back to my own heart. David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart… Point out anything in me that offends you” (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT). That is a prayer worth praying regularly.
God is not simply interested in keeping us from doing terrible things. He is forming us into people who look increasingly like Jesus. So instead of reading this list and thinking about someone else, ask God to show you what He sees in you. Where there is pride, ask for humility. Where there is dishonesty, choose truth. Where there is division, become a peacemaker.
Following Jesus is not just about avoiding what God hates. It is allowing Him to build within us the kind of character He loves.