There are six things the Lord hates,

Proverbs 6:16-19

Seven that are detestable to Him. The Lord lays out His standard, the moral guide we are supposed to follow. The ways of the narrow path and a simple, peaceful life. God spells it out for us many times in the Bible; when He gave Moses the 10 Commandments and through many of Jesus’ teachings, we are reminded of the baseline standard for righteousness. Let us plant these seeds of truth on rich soil within us to produce good fruit and multiply by the hundreds.

The Lord hates haughty eyes. Haughty - adjective, which means arrogantly superior and disdainful. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:3. Why are we in judgment of our brothers and sisters when we are sinners, too? I often feel conviction from this, and a beautiful revelation that Jesus brought before me was that each person I meet is someone He died for. Jesus offers the humility to recognize that we are no better than anybody else and have no right to come from a place of righteous superiority. Coming to people with loving conviction and concern could mean the world of a difference. We should speak up to our neighbors who claim Christ, and even those who don’t. Our relationship with the Lord is the biggest blessing, and we should want everyone we meet to feel His love radiating from us.

God hates a lying tongue. In this day and age, it’s hard to trust anything - it’s as though everything is meant to deceive us. We weren’t taught to lie. The first lie in the Bible: “Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” – Genesis 4:8,9. Nobody told Cain to lie. The most common reason why people lie is to avoid punishment, according to the Paul Ekman Group. Everybody in the world lies, and we all know that lying comes with repercussions almost every single time. Something that always throws me off is that after I lie, I don’t even know why I did. It’s almost always just a simple situation where the lie slips out of my mouth and I’m stuck wondering why the heck I just said that. Something that has helped me personally was realizing that I don’t have to pretend I’m something I’m not. We were created in the image of God and should feel positively impacted by that knowledge. We don’t have to lie to save face or anything else.

He hates hands that shed innocent blood. Cain is a good example of what not to be like for us, as he committed the first lie as well as the first murder in the Bible. I’m guessing (hoping) the people who read this haven’t murdered anybody. In the New Testament, Jesus teaches us that anger towards someone is like murdering them: “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” – Matthew 5:22. I know I have multiple counts in the court of this law. There are many reasons we get angry with others: jealousy, disrespect, annoyance, personal trials, etc.. We always have to remember that getting angry (committing mental murder) never made things better. The best way to overcome anger, from my experience, is to open up about what you’re feeling toward that person before it festers into a resentment that is difficult to redeem.

The Lord hates a heart that devises wicked schemes. Our flesh is constantly being tempted by wickedness, and it’s of great importance for us to guard our hearts not to listen to the flesh. Humankind is doomed to the fate of constant and loud worldly desires. Jesus says we should deny our flesh, pick up our crosses, and follow Him. We should work each day to keep this plan in our hearts. When we follow Jesus, we don’t desire to do evil. When we seek the Lord with our whole being, we are brought into a light that is scarcely penetrated by darkness.

God hates feet that are quick to rush into evil. In my personal life, the times I’ve been more susceptible to sin were when I was around secular people. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:27. The Lord has given me many great friendships from whom I have learned a lot of life lessons. The most important lesson I learned from them was that after finding true peace and fulfillment in Jesus, the things I used to place above everything else, and the things that my old friends and I used to bond over, became incredibly futile and pointless to me. I don’t think I would be here writing this today if I were still being sharpened by those people. So my advice: take an inventory of those whom you surround yourself with, and if your main bond isn’t Christ, maybe they aren’t the best examples for you.

The Lord hates a false witness who pours out lies. God really hates it when we lie, according to this proverb. The lying mentioned here is noticeably different from what was written before. God hates injustice, which, when you think about it, is ironic. God’s mercy and love for us are not fair- we deserve way worse than what He gives. The injustice He hates is the kind that causes unfair punishment to His people. There’s a reason God warns us about this. During the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion: “Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death” – Matthew 26:59. There are also several recent examples in American courts that this sin has proven to be frustrating and ultimately degrading for society. God warns about it because swaying the scales of justice isn’t a human responsibility.

Finally, the Lord hates a person who stirs up conflict in the community. This covers a plethora of sins. This person could be a gossip, or a drunk, or an addict, or mentally ill, or judgmental, etc., etc.. If our actions cause negative chaos and darkness within other people, we are probably doing the wrong thing. We need to engulf the Word into our mind, soul, and spirit, so that we have a chance of living in peace and joy by the will of our God.