What The Lord Hates!

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 person who stirs up conflict in the community. Proverbs 6:16-19 NIV

Whenever people don't want to hear or live truth, they always start justifying their behavior and when it comes to living according to The Word, many are quick to say, "Jesus just said love." Well, He did talk about love because He is love and because He loves, He wants the very best for all who love Him. And He said, "If we love Him, we'll keep His commandments"--to love--God and one another.

I guess if we ever stop looking at the Bible as a means of restricting or confining us, we'd understand that God's Word is our protection against things in life in which we have no control. But the enemy has managed to manipulate and deceive people into thinking the Bible is just an ancient book of myths and that people should be able to live any way they want to live. We've always had that choice, but I can say without hesitation that I tried living without The Word and living with The Word guiding my life is so much better.

Living without The Word to guide us will blind our eyes to truth and allow the influence to influence heart and mind--letting us think that God does not see or hear the things we do. But He does and the seven things that He hates are what keep confusion and chaos reigning when people live without The Word.

Haughty Eyes--arrogance revealed in the eyes of those who think they are better than others and will do anything to make people feel inferior.

Lying Tongues--that little member that has no bones, but crushes the mighty and keeps the weak oppressed and suppressed.

Hands That Shed Innocent Blood--those who willfully take lives of innocent people who have never wronged them. The terrorists will discover on judgment day their sentence for taking the lives of innocent people simply because they refuse to accept the fact that people can choose what they believe and should not be subjected to the hatred and disdain of others. This is true of anyone who takes a life outside of war and self-defense.

A Heart That Devises Wicked Schemes--those who do nothing other than think about doing wicked things--those who plot to take lives and destroy hope. Don't forget, the enemy's job is to kill, steal and destroy--all who God loves.

Feet That Are Quick To Rush Into Evil--those who hover and linger around others, just waiting for a snippet of gossip so they can run and tell it. Of course along the way, they mangle truth into twisted lies to make what they have to say more important.

A False Witness Who Pours Out Lies--those who will lie as a witness against someone else in order to benefit from the lie. These are those who knowingly attempt to deflect truth from themselves. And we see this time and time again when silly females lie about being raped simply because someone rejected them. We cannot forget all those who were false witnesses against Jesus Christ, but then we must also understand it was all part of God's plan for our salvation.

A Person Who Stirs Up Conflict In A Community--those who "are always stirring up trouble where no trouble exists." I have heard them called, "pot stirrers" and they will twist truth in order to inflame those listening in order to make themselves appear superior. One of the political candidates seems to be really good at stirring up conflict within many cultural communities and he thinks people are stupid enough to buy into his nonsense. I'm praying that wisdom will envelop all when they head to the voting polls and show this character that not everyone is as stupid as he thinks they are.

All of these seven things warrant a separate post, but I thought about the world's condition and as I was reading this passage today, I was reminded that God does indeed hate--liars in particular--those who claim He didn't mean what He said, stirring up conflict in communities (their place has already been prepared), and those who kill for no reason.

As a Believer--one called by God to teach His Word--I cannot ignore expansion of those things that are designed to destroy mankind by just expanding on the "good stuff" in God's Word in my posts. Teaching Truth--God's Truth--not mine because I don't have any truth to teach is what I will continue to do, no matter what people think of me. Fortunately for me, I know they have nothing to do with my place in eternity and I will not be deterred from teaching God's Truth simply because they "hate" because I Believe.