Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the LORD hates – no, seven things he detests: 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 and a person who sows discord in a family.

We spend a lot of time talking and singing about the fact that God is a God of love. That’s absolutely right, but we shouldn’t forget that God also has a list of pet hates. None of the things on this list comes as a surprise. God hates arrogance because the arrogant person has no time or space for him. They believe that they have already got all the answers and are content with the way that they are. God hates lies, murder and those who eagerly scheme to do evil, and he detests the person who sows trouble and division in a family.

God wants us to follow him and to allow our lives to be shaped by his attitudes, so I have to conclude that he wants us to be haters too. He would like us to have a list of things that we detest with such intensity that we are not prepared to live with them. He wants us to stand up against those who tell lies. That will give us quite a lot of work to do because we hear lies in one form or another every day. Advertisers confidently tell us how we can find peace and fulfilment in life. By buying their holiday, car or cosmetics, suddenly our lives will be transformed and we will find contentment. However, it’s just not true, and somebody needs to stand up and dispute their claims.

At the heart of God’s concerns is his longing for justice. Time and again throughout the Bible, God shows his hatred of how the weak are crushed by the injustices of society. If we love God, we cannot stand idly by and allow injustice to win. We need to get involved in the messy business of challenging injustice and getting alongside those who are the victims of our materialistic and ungodly society.

Hatred might seem to be a strange word to associate with God, but the reason for it is because he is a God of love. He loves us and our world so much that he is not willing for evil to succeed.

Question

What are the things that you hate, and what do you do as a result of hating them?

Prayer

Loving God, help me to think more and more in the way that you do. Help me to love other people by hating those things which ruin their lives. Amen