By Robin Sam
IN the book of Proverbs, the Spirit of God makes the writer throw light on seven things that the Lord hates; that are detestable to Him.
Those are listed in Proverbs 6:16-19: “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him; 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 man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”
Haughty eyes: They belong to a person who thinks he has made it. He is more than self-sufficient and he vainly believes he is the reason for all good things in his life. He would like to believe that his intelligence, his hard work, his persuasive talk and go-getter attitude have given him success. Such people believe success is their birthright. God cannot operate in a person who thinks he is self-sufficient. Haughty eyes belong to a person who is proud of himself and his accomplishments. A proud heart will never learn to trust in God. It was pride that made King Nebuchadnezzar set up a 90-feet high statue in gold to enforce its worship in Babylon (Daniel 3:1). His boastful words about his might, majesty and power were unpleasant to God (Daniel 4:30). He was brought low and made to graze grass like an animal. God brought a turnaround in his life only when he acknowledged the sovereignty of the Living God over all the earth (Daniel 4:34-35).
A lying tongue: Have you known your God as a holy God – One who detests lying tongue? If you have not known Him thus, perhaps you are still living in darkness. Perhaps you think an occasional lie here and a fib there is not all that bad! Our God is not only the Way and the Life but the Truth as well. Lying is hateful to God because He is Truth. Lying comes from Satan. He is called as ‘the father of lies’ in John 8:44. When God’s Word becomes unpalatable to us, remember we are yielding to our old nature and want to carry out the devil’s desires (John 8:44). If you are redeemed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, then you are a child of God. And, just as light cannot co-exist with darkness we cannot be practitioners of the Way, the Truth and the Life and have a deceitful heart. If we truly believe we are saved, we ought to believe that we are sanctified too. Our calling is to walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8).
Hands that shed blood: Why did Cain kill Abel, his own brother? You would perhaps say it was out of jealousy. You are right. But in the first recorded instance of shedding of innocent blood in the Bible, what Cain did was get Abel out of the way. Cain saw Abel as his competitor not brother or compatriot. In Psalm 106:38, the psalmist explains why the wrath of God was poured out on Israel on many occasions. When Israelites followed the ways of the pagan world, they sacrificed their children to a false god, Molech – just as the Ammonites did. God cites that instance as shedding of innocent blood. We may not be proponents of human sacrifice now, but remember every time we go against God’s will and try to suppress some truth that disturbs us, we could be in possession of hands that shed blood.
A heart that devises wicked schemes: Wicked plans can come only from a wicked heart. Wickedness is defined as ‘morally wrong and deliberately intending to hurt people.’ Even if we claim that a certain act was not intended to be harmful to people, the very fact that it is morally wrong is enough to make us sinners in the sight of God. We may try to justify our actions but does not He who weighs the heart perceive it, says Proverbs 24:12. Proverbs 16: 22 says: ‘All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.’ When we realize that our God judges not just our actions but our motives and intentions also, we cannot but take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). David knew the heart is a deceitful thing. That’s why in Psalm 26:2, he asks God to test him, try him and examine his heart and mind. A believer should allow the Word to rule his heart and let the rule of the Lord to every nook and cranny of his life.
Feet that are quick to rush into evil: Did you notice that body parts are mentioned in the first five things that God hates? Eyes, tongue, hand, heart and feet – the progression to evil is so fast that now the feet ‘rush into evil’. There are no second thoughts, no guilt pangs, no remorse now in the man who has forsaken God and truth. The feet are glad to rush into evil and be done with it. That’s the mark of a spiritually dead person. However, there’s hope for those who want to change. Deuteronomy 33:1 says everyone who sit at God’s feet will receive His words. Take time to sit at the Lord’s feet every day, wait for His word to be revealed to you. It will meet every need of your life. Like Mary, decide to choose the good part that will not be taken away from you. What was the good part that Mary chose unlike Martha, who was worried and upset about many things? Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and heard His word (Luke 10:39).
A false witness who pours out lies: If the first five things that God hates had to do with parts of the body, the 6th one is a person. He is a witness, a false one at that. Notice he does not stutter or stammer in his falsifications. He ‘pours out lies’. The progression to evil is complete. The man has truly become a child of the devil, the father of lies (John 8:44). He is truly in his father’s (the devil’s) control. ‘You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor’ is one of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:16). This commandment is repeated 19 times in the Bible, almost as if God feared that men will make light of it. One who gives a false report is called an unrighteous witness in Exodus 23:1. Proverbs 19:5 has a dire warning to false witnesses: ‘A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.’ Proverbs 21:28 says ‘A false witness shall perish.’ If you think this is an old commandment meant only for those who lived in the times of the Old Testament, then turn to Matthew 15:19: ‘For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.’ Jesus says false witness along with the others listed in the Bible passage quoted above defile a man.
A man who stirs up dissension among brothers: Our God is a God who sends His blessing and life where there is harmony. David found out this truth in Psalm 133:1 when he said: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore. Is this kind of idyllic unity among Christians unattainable when even blood brothers are at each others’ throat over even trivial material things? It is attainable when we allow our relations to be bound by the chord of love. In all your relations, if Christ is the third strand then it will stand the test of time. Proverbs 16:28 says it is a perverse man who stirs up dissension. Proverbs 15:18 says a hot-tempered man stirs up dissension. Strife, Paul rightly identified, is the work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19).
We can overcome the power of the work of flesh in our lives if we ‘do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature’. But, remember, we cannot do this on our own strength. It can be done only when we are ready to live as though we have been crucified with Christ and proclaim boldly that ‘the life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.(Galatians 2:20). To realize that we have been crucified along with Christ will help us understand Galatians 5:24,25: ‘Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’
May our God help us live such a life worthy and acceptable to Him.
Related article: 7 things that make us trip in our Spirit-filled life
From the archives: All columns by the editor |
Robin Sam is the founding editor of The Christian Messenger newspaper. A journalist with 16 years of experience, he has worked with The Indian Express, Sify.com and Yahoo! besides several other publications. He quit his job in 2008 to get into full-time media ministry. You can contact him at editor [at] christianmessenger [dot] in
