God is often portrayed as a loving God who is too good to have anything bad. For instance, some people may shudder at the thought of saying God can hate. However, the Bible makes it clear that there are some things that God hates.
According to Proverbs 6:16-19, God hates 7 things. These are; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these:
1. Haughty eyes
The word haughty eyes is also interpreted as a proud look in other scriptures. A person with haughty eyes is one who considers himself more important than other people. God describes the proud person as one with haughty eyes because you can tell a proud person from the way they views others. The English phrase “look down upon ” or “look down their nose” also illustrates the point. God hates haughty eyes so much that in another scripture, he says that he will resist the proud but give grace to the humble (James 5:6).
An example of haughty eyes is given in Luke 18:9. It was the story of a pharisee who looked down upon a tax collector when they met in the temple for prayer. As an illustration of how seriously God takes the sin of haughty eyes, he gave a parable showing how pride will be humbled and also demonstrated how God ignored the prayer of the pharisee but answered the tax collectors (Luke 18:10-14).
2. A lying tongue
The Bible attributes lying to the devil who is described as the source/father of all lies (John 8:44). Lying is one of the commonest sins in the Bible that was committed by both Godly and ungodly people in the Bible. However, irrespective of who lies, the constant is that God hates a lying tongue. There are many times when we lie as a way of getting out of trouble. But every time you get tempted to lie, remember that it is one of the 7 things that God hates. We have already sinned that lying is attributed to the devil but the flip side is just as important – speaking truth is attributed to God. In Numbers 23:19, God is described as incapable of lying and Jesus refers to himself as the way and the truth (John 14:6). As such, you should aspire to be more godlike by refusing to lie.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood
The first murder in the Bible was Cain (he murdered his brother Abel) and God punished him severely. This was the first hint that God hates the shedding of innocent blood. Interestingly, the law of Moses provided capital punishment in some of the offenses like adultery and blasphemy. The reason is these offenders were not considered innocent. God believes in righteousness and justice where offenders need to be punished but at the same time, he made it clear that he hated the shedding of innocent blood.
4. A heart that devises wicked schemes
There is a difference between being caught in the heat of the moment and thereby falling into sin and actually planning your way into sin. In Micah 2:1-4, the prophet warns the people against planning iniquity. A heart that divides wicked schemes describes a heart that dwells in evil. All of us have evil thoughts from time to time. When that happens to you, you try to get rid of the thought and are even ashamed of it. However, the person who devises wicked schemes is one who consistently thinks of wicked schemes. This is the kind of person that God hates because such a person is always doing the bidding of the devil. The Bible says the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). When a man sets his heart to devise wicked imaginations, he is volunteering to do exactly that.
5. Feet that are quick to rush to evil
David warned us of people who hate good but love evil in Pslams 52:3-5. God desires that his children will be the opposite – that they will love good and hate evil. In Romans 12:9, we are reminded to hate every appearance of evil and to cling to that which is good. The fifth thing that God hates (feet that are quick to rush to evil) may be seen as the next step after the fourth thing (a heart that devises wicked schemes). Once you give your heart to a wicked scheme, your feet will be quick to rush to evil.
When writing about the full armor, Paul makes it clear that the feet of the believer represent the preaching of the gospel (Ephesians 6:15). This truth is corroborated by the words of Prophet Isaiah who calls the feet of the person who preaches good news beautiful (Isaiah 52:7). It is therefore sad when one allows his feet to rush to evil and that is probably why God hates it.
6. A false witness
As the children of Israel were making their way toward the promised land, God issued them with the 10 commandments amongst other laws that they were to live by in Canaan (Exodus 20). Among the 10 commandments was the charge against bearing false testimony. The reason why God told them not to bear false witness is because such a witness can pervert justice and get innocent people in trouble while letting the guilty go scot-free. For instance, the false testimony that was raised against Jesus resulted in his condemnation to be killed while Barabas, a known criminal, was set free. Proverbs 19:5 warns that God will not allow any false witness to go unpunished
7. A person who stirs up conflict
Psalm 133 describes the kind of state he wants his children in – a state of unity. Unfortunately. In the words of the Psalmist, unity is described as “good and pleasant.” This unity is often threatened by people who sow apples of discord. As Paul describes in 1 Cor. 3:1-3, any effort to bring disunity in the church is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Anyone who intentionally stirs up conflict is doing the work of the devil because he is the author of confusion and disunity.
Conclusion
The 7 things that God hates don’t imply that all other sins are okay. Just like the 10 commandments doesn’t imply that the other laws are less important. These 7 are just meant to highlight some of the things that we should seek to avoid in order to leave a life that pleases God.
