Things the LORD Hates
Proverbs 6:16-19
Marriage seems like it would be so easy when you fall in love. But the truth is marriage is hard. You start by blending together people from two different backgrounds and experiences. There are so many things about daily life we don’t even think about until your new life partner does something different than how you are used to doing it. What, you’re not supposed to do it like that…Duh! (just for the record I kept my ‘duhs’ to myself).
But about the time you figure something out your partner changes again. You change. New life stages introduce all kinds of things that require adjustments at home. Maybe romance turns to more practical matters. I thought she said she wanted a weedwhacker—was that a bad Mother’s Day present? She did get even when she bought me a lamp she wanted for Father’s Day.
Now let’s imagine that Patti and I are doing a couple’s conference together. We’re both on stage fielding some Q and A’s when someone asks Patti to name a few things that Bryan does that annoy her? I’m expecting her to admit there’s nothing really. He’s practically perfect in every way. Instead, to my utter surprise she turns to the screen and brings up a power point presentation entitled, “Things Bryan does that annoy me.”
This is quite puzzling to me. How could this be? She’s never showed me that list before or at least that’s my recollection. This is all so unfair. When I asked her why she hadn’t told me these things she said she had, lots of times, but I hadn’t listened. So now, here’s the list. Maybe now I’ll listen.
This is a technique the writer of Proverbs uses in our text this week. Nothing on the list is new or surprising, but maybe we haven’t always listened like we should. There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.
Well now that’s pretty clear, isn’t it? A simple list of things God hates. The question is are we going to listen or not? Last week we talked about a perverse mouth. It’s worth noting that half of those things on the list have to do with what comes out of our mouths. A lying tongue. A false witness that utters lies. One who spreads strife among brothers. A lying tongue is more general. A false witness has to do with untrue things I say about another person. These lies spread strife.
Not to sound like a broken record but these are things God hates. In other words, using our mouths to tear down shalom. God hates a mouth that is out of control. It hurts people and that is an abomination to Him.
Haughty eyes refer to how we view ourselves. It carries the idea of pride and entitlement. When I have haughty eyes, I excuse my behavior because I have a right to act this way. God states He hates my behavior, but I convince myself that warning doesn’t apply to me. I can justify my own attitude and behaviors and that gives me a get out or jail free card. In other words, I have a right to act this way. Again, just to be clear, God says He hates what I am rationalizing.
He hates hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans and feet that run rapidly to evil. I don’t see any exceptions listed. Regardless of your own story or your own past, revenge is not acceptable to God. You don’t have the right to get even or make someone pay for their sins. He’s God. He’ll set things straight. God hates what He hates. No excuses or rationalizations. Whether we’re doing the behavior or supporting others who do the behavior—God hates it.
So much of what is tearing our communities apart these days is on this list. The media and politicians want to say it’s okay for this reason and that reason. People feel entitled and justified in their actions. But God says it’s not okay. He hates it. It’s an abomination to Him. It’s destroying the fabric of our community.
These things that God hates are referred to throughout the Bible in various contexts. But sometimes it’s clearer when recorded in one simple list. No excuses. No exceptions. No passes. God hates these things and so should we. They are evil. They are sin. They should have no part in the life of a child of God.
Our relationship with God is pictured in the marriage relationship. Imagine Patti going through her list and me either excusing my behavior, justifying my behavior, or simply ignoring her. I don’t have to listen to her unreasonable list. That doesn’t bode well for the future of the marriage.
God hates the things listed. They are an abomination to Him. I can pay attention to what He says and examine my own life, or ignore Him. I need to ask myself if I have been lured in by the culture into attitudes and behaviors God hates? Am I condoning what is an abomination to God? Am I calling wrong right because of some situational ethic? Have I allowed the voices of the culture to influence me more than God’s voice? The list seems pretty clear.
Skillful living requires we hate what God hates. Here’s a simple list. What you do with it is up to you, but know the marriage isn’t going to work if you ignore the list and won’t listen. One thing you can’t say is that you didn’t know how God felt about these things. You do know, the simple list is before you. I pray we all choose to listen before the damage is beyond repair.