Checking off too many on the list?

Scripture outlines six things God hates, and if six were not enough, God adds just one more (kind of like the cherry on top) that God has some pretty serious feelings about (in fact, we might call it a total loathing for that thing). Hate carries the idea of a very intense, passionate dislike of something. Loathing carries a sense of disgust and gives one the idea that God is repulsed by the type of action he is observing - actions not 'befitting' a person who calls himself a child of God. In total, seven things God asks us to take notice of in our lives and then seek his help to break free of them so we can live in a manner that shows we are engaged with him on this journey of 'right-living'. Our eyes get us into so much trouble - almost as much as our mouth - so it should come as no surprise that the 'top two' things God hates have to do with these two!

Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

#1 on the list: Haughty eyes (arrogant eyes) - in other words, being way too prideful for our own good. Pride is a battle we must fight every day. When we have a higher opinion of ourselves than those around us, we are probably dealing with an issue of pride. Sometimes we need a "pulse check" from another we trust to see how we are doing in this area. The call is to lay down one's own agenda for the good of the whole - to not become focused on what you believe is "due" you because of your position, contribution, sense of self-worth, etc. God pretty much declares that pride becomes a barrier that keeps us from realizing some of the best stuff he has. #2 on the list - coming it at a close second:
Lying tongues. Words are more powerful than we'd first like to give them credit. Our words make or break a situation - they either tear down, or build up. Plain and simple. More defilement enters into our lives through the destructiveness of our words than we'd probably like to admit. Hurtful words drive wedges, create animosity, and destroy character. God simply cannot abide that kind of behavior in his family - because it destroys the family's integrity.

Lower on the list, but not to be overlooked or 'reduced in rank' by any means are the hands that murder the innocent. In most cases, we don't go out and kill each other, but our hands are tools that can either reflect the grace of God's touch, or the hurtfulness of selfish, prideful self-will. Much is conveyed in a touch, but nothing rises to the level of touching that which is innocent and bringing death by that touch. In our society today, we could go so far as to say this is not just the "taking of a life", but the stripping away of the dignity and respect of a life by the use of any type of inappropriate touch (bringing death emotionally). Innocence is lost in just one touch. Following closely on the heels of 'wrongful touch' is the idea of our heart. Hearts that plot evil - our emotions are either positive or negative (there really is no "emotional middle-ground"). Envy, lust, pride, fear, anger, rage - these describe emotions that stem from our heart. Each of these emotions are a reflection of something within. They may be the response to an actual circumstance, or the imaginations of our mind. Regardless of their "source", the action is the same - repaying or responding out of our emotion. God looks at the outcome of our thoughts - not so much that we simply had the thought. He works on changing the thought patterns, of course, but his focus is on the outcome (what we do with the thought we have). 

 
We may find the next one a little unflattering, because most of us wouldn't think our feet could be the problem when it comes to making right choices. Don't they go where the mind tells them to? That is probably why God dealt with our hearts first - because our emotions do a whole lot to encourage our feet along! Feet that race to do wrong - it is one thing to meditate on what is wrong, or on what will yield an outcome of sinful behavior, but it is another thing to embrace it and follow hard after it. Whenever we find ourselves "racing" toward what we know is wrong, we are in a place of dishonoring our God. The more we focus on the actions God doesn't want to see in his kids' lives, the more we cannot veer away from dealing with the mouth once again. The mouth gets us into more trouble - doesn't it? A false witness - more than someone who just tells a lie - this is the testimony of one against another. The testimony of our lives is one of either living out the message of the gospel, or the message of a self-directed life. We make a choice - reveal God's grace in how we live out our lives, or reveal our selfishness and pride. To say that we are Christian and choose to live selfish, pride-filled lives is to have a false witness.

A person who sows discord among brothers (family) - the cherry on the top! God's method of accomplishing his purposes is within "family" - anything that destroys family is an abomination to God (something he abhors). God desires us to be in relationship - to be "builders" of relationship, not in the "demolition" business. As we embrace patterns of sinful behavior, we are working to destroy the integrity of the family. The list starts out pretty "tame" - deal with your attitude of "self-importance" and ends with a strong warning about not destroying family. All that comes in between builds upon the others. Rarely do we see one of these traits in isolation of another in our lives. Most of the time, they go hand in hand with each other. Learning what it is that hurts God's heart is paramount if we want to draw close to him. When we realize the things that drives a wedge between us and him, we also realize just how much we need his help to be free of those very things. Just sayin!

I hate this....

I used to teach my kids not to use the word "hate" when they described their dislike of something.  For example, whenever they said they "hated broccoli" I would ask them to change it to they "disliked broccoli".  Broccoli is an inanimate object - it has not soul.  Hatred carries this idea of "enmity" within the relationship - and my kids had no relationship with broccoli!  Whenever they said they "hated" this kid or that one, I would ask why they were feeling such passionate dislike and hostility toward them.  I tried to connect the difference between dislike and hatred by the idea of relationship.  We relate to people, not to an inanimate object.  We therefore have the ability to destroy people when we don't get things right in relationship with them.  We can regrow broccoli, but regrowing relationship is quite a different matter! When God says he "hates" something, he means he has an aversion to it so strongly because he sees what it does to the "relationship" he has with either you and I, or the relationship we have with each other.  

Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion:

eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.  (Proverbs 6:16-19 MSG)

Seven things God says he hates - mostly because of how these things affect our relationship with him and others:

- Eyes that are arrogant.  Arrogance will do more to destroy relationship than we might imagine, simply because our feelings of "self-importance" and "self-preservation" which are part of being arrogant become the basis by which we view all of life.  We push others away by our feelings of superiority - including God.  We don't see our need for his intervention in our lives because we think we have it all handled pretty well by ourselves.  The other dangerous part of being arrogant is the tendency to see ourselves as "deserving" of another's attention, trust, or love.  The truth is - we seldom act in a way which is deserving of the tremendous amount of grace we received from God and those who love him!

- A tongue that lies.  Deliberate intent to deceive is quick to tear down any foundation a relationship might have.  It divides quickly and leaves things in a mess.  This is also quite true in our relationship with our heavenly Father. Whenever we find it difficult to be honest with him, covering up our shortcomings with some form of a "lie" or untruth, we are erecting walls which he must destroy in order to get at our heart.  The words we speak betray our heart quicker than we might realize.  Anything which presents a false impression of the way things really are is a lie.  A false impression only serves to keep people at a distance - masks must be removed if we are to experience the reality of relationship.

- Hands that murder the innocent.  While most of us are not going to be guilty of wielding a gun and pulling the trigger, taking the life of another, we might not recognize how much our words and attitude can do exactly the same thing!  In this day and age of "bullying" and "alienation", isn't it apparent that our words and actions display a hurtful side to our character at times?  Murder is more than just taking a life by violent means.  If you look it up, murder can even stand for a group or flock of crows!  Now, I don't think God had crows in mind when he gave Solomon these words to pen, but hear me out on this one. A flock of crows does a great deal of damage and they are pretty annoying! They swoop in on the fields and take up residence where they are least wanted. In time, they multiply to great proportion - and their incessant squawking will drive a person mad!  What makes crows dangerous is their tendency to be territorial - they want what they should not have, defending it as though it were theirs to take!  Now, think about that in terms of what God wants from our relationships.  He doesn't want us taking what we should not have!

- A heart that hatches evil plots.  Hatching is a process of brooding.  God is reminding us of the dangers of brooding on stuff.  Things which ruminate in our brains long enough begin to affect our actions.  Ruminate on the negative and you will become quite negative about everything.  Ruminate on those things which are cynical, harmful or injurious to another and you will soon be acting out what it is you are thinking upon.  

- Feet that pace down a wicked track.  It goes without saying that we move in the direction our feet are pointed.  Most of us don't go through life walking backward - we step out and away from where it is we have been - moving forward as a result.  The path we choose to trod makes all the difference in the destination we realize.  We cannot forget how the journey influences our ultimate destination.  Get on the wrong plane headed in the wrong direction at the airport and you will find yourself all the way on the other side of the country, far from where you designed to go.  When we trod a wicked path, we find ourselves deeply encrusted with misery, agonizing relationship issues, and nagging guilt.  God's desire is for us to avoid such a destiny!

- A mouth that lies under oath.  We might think this related to our first issue of not telling untruths.  In a way it is, but it carries a more significant meaning because there is an "oath" behind it.  Most of us don't think of our words as "binding" or "under oath".  Unless we raise our right hand and swear on the Bible in a courtroom before a judge, we probably don't think we are "under oath" at all.  We often give our "pledge" to another in relationship - to be there at a certain time, to attend a special event, or to even spend time on a particular date just being with each other.  Whenever we break this "pledge", we are breaking our "oath".  An oath is similar to a vow.  It is when we ask God to act as our witness to the surety we will do as we say.  

- A troublemaker in the family.  God tacks this one on because it carries such a huge wallop.  There is nothing more damaging to a family than one "pitting" themselves against another - whether it be for the attention of their parents, the attention it gets them, or some other malevolent reason.  A troublemaker has but one desire - to make distress and worry a part of everyday life.  No family should have this kind of individual in it, including God's family!

We may not always do well at these things, but if we are determined to live within relationship with Jesus, we will pay attention to them and seek to have him help us not fall short of God's expectations in these areas of our relationship with him and others.  Just sayin!

Hurting God's Heart

^16-19 Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.

(Proverbs 6:16-19)

Solomon outlines for us six things God hates and adds just one more (kind of like the cherry on top) that God has some pretty serious feelings about (loathing).  Hate carries the idea of intense, passionate dislike of something.  Loathing carries a sense of disgust and gives one the idea that God is repulsed by the type of action he sees.

1. Haughty eyes (arrogant eyes) - pride is a battle we must fight every day.  Any time we have a higher opinion of ourselves than those around us, we are probably dealing with an issue of pride.  Sometimes we need a "pulse check" from another we trust to see how we are doing in this area.  The call is to lay down one's own agenda for the good of the whole - to not become focused on what you believe is "due" you because of your position, contribution, etc.  God pretty much declares that pride becomes a barrier that keeps us from realizing some of the best stuff he has.
2. Lying tongues - words are more powerful than we'd first like to give them credit.  Our words make or break a situation - they tear down, or build up.  Plain and simple.  More defilement enters into our lives through the destructiveness of our words than we'd probably like to admit.  Hurtful words drive wedges, create animosity, and destroy character.  God simply cannot abide that kind of behavior in his family - because it destroys the family's integrity.
3. Hands that murder the innocent - our hands are tools that can either reflect the grace of God's touch, or the hurtfulness of selfish, prideful self-will.  Much is conveyed in a touch, but nothing rises to the level of touching that which is innocent and bringing death by that touch.  In our society today, we could go so far as to say this is not just the "taking of a life", but the stripping away of the dignity and respect of a life by the use of any type of inappropriate touch (bringing death emotionally).  Innocence is lost in just one touch.
4. Hearts that plot evil - our emotions are either positive or negative (there really is no "emotional middle-ground").  Envy, lust, pride, fear, anger, rage - these describe emotions that stem from our heart.  Each of these emotions are a reflection of something within.  They may be the response to an actual circumstance, or the imaginations of our mind.  Regardless of their "source", the action is the same - repaying or responding out of our emotion.  God looks at the outcome of our thoughts - not so much that we simply had the thought.  He works on changing the thought patterns, of course, but his focus is on the outcome (what we do with the thought we have).  
5. Feet that race to do wrong - it is one thing to meditate on what is wrong, or on what will yield an outcome of sinful behavior, but it is another thing to embrace it and follow hard after it.  Whenever we find ourselves "racing" toward what we know is wrong, we are in a place of dishonoring our God.
6. A false witness - more than someone who just tells a lie - this is the testimony of one against another.  This also is our testimony of our lives - living out the message of the gospel, or the message of a self-directed life.  We make a choice - reveal God's grace in how we live out our lives, or reveal our selfishness and pride.  To say that we are Christian and choose to live selfish, pride-filled lives is to have a false witness.
7. A person who sows discord among brothers (family) - the cherry on the top!  God's method of accomplishing his purposes is within "family" - anything that destroys family is an abomination to God (something he abhors).  God desires us to be in relationship - to be "builders" of relationship, not in the "demolition" business.  As we embrace patterns of sinful behavior, we are working to destroy the integrity of the family.

These are all pretty "stinky" stuff.  The list starts out pretty "tame" - deal with your attitude of "self-importance" and ends with a strong warning about not destroying family.  All that comes in between builds upon the other.  Rarely do we see one of these traits in isolation of another.  Most of the time, they go hand in hand.  Learning what it is that hurts God's heart is paramount if we want to draw close to him.