What Does God Hate?

The other evening I had a mini discussion with someone who had gone to a wedding and was kind of surprised when the Pastor said that "God hates divorce." I will admit that I was a bit surprised as well but after I thought about it I remembered that most of the time the vows also say, "what God has joined together let no man put assunder and until death do us part." So, really we should all see that marriage is indeed a covenant relationship and that God intends for us to stay married.

The person that I was discussing this was said:"God does not hate anything." Well, no that is not true and I am going to blog about two places in the Bible where we see that God does indeed hate. In Malachi 2:16 it says: "I hate divorce says the God of Israel." In this chapter of the Bible the people were being unfaithful. They were not openly saying that they rejected God, but they were choosing to live their lives as though He did not exist. Don't we sometimes live that way as well? Men were marrying pagan women who worshipped idols and divorce was common. People felt that they could live life as they pleased without any retribution. God refused to accept their offerings and He would not bless them. I believe that this is a reminder to us who are followers of Christ that we cannot seperate our dealings with God from the rest of our lives. He needs to be Lord over every area of our lives.

The second place in Scripture where we see that God hates (and there are others) is in Proverbs 6: 16-19: "There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil. a false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers."

As I spent some time studying this is what I have found on this passage that best explained it to me...hope that it in some way helps someone else. First, we need to ask ourselves, why does God hate these things? I believe that through my research it is because of what these things do to us. What happens when the things mentioned above enter our lives? James T. Draper said:"The heart of God hurts when there is a perversion of what He intended for man. When man experiences what God did not plan for him, it hurts God. It is agony to Him."

We want to believe that God looks at our actions and shuts His eyes to our sinful nature and that He forgives because He just doesn't want to be anything but a loving God. God is love and does love us, but the bottom line is "He hates sin." He made us to have fellowship with Him, He created us in His image and we are commanded to love God with all of our hearts, minds and souls.

1) Haughty eyes...refers to those who feel that all they have accomplished they have done on their own. We give God no credit for the good that happens in our lives and that can quickly develop into pride and pride causes many to turn away from God. Pride is sin and usually is the cause of most rebellion and disobedience. The Bible tells us in James 4:6 "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

2) A lying tongue...91% of people say they regularly lie; 75% say they lie to their best friends; 86% of teenagers say they lie to their parents; 31% admit they lie to their spouses and have been unfaithful; 32% say they don't report all their income to the IRS; 76% say they consistently exceed the speed limit and 58% have called in sick to get a day off from work.

Again, this is going against what God desires for us. Our lips were created to bring praises to our King so again it is why he hates lying. The list of broken hearts, homes, and churches as well that are the so often result of deceit is tragic. 1 Corinthians 13:6 says: "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

3) Hands that shed innocent blood...This to me is why I do what I do...nearly 1 in 4 pregnancies in the United States alone ends in abortion. Over 1.7 million abortions are done annually, with nearly 1/8 of them during the second or third trimester. 94% of the time it is not because the mother's life is threatened, a rape or incest, or even because the baby has severe birth defects...it is because it is inconvenient. Abortionists shed innocent blood every day.

4) A heart that devises wicked schemes...when drug dealers take young girls and keep them in the bondage of an addiction...God hates it. When people plan schemes that harm innocent people, tear families apart, etc...God hates it. When people have ulterior motives for what they say and do, God hates it.

5) Feet that are quick to rush into evil...Think of the tragedies at our colleges and high schools where often a lone gunman bursts into a classroom and kills innocent people. Married men who seek out prostitutes and hurt not only the women who are being exploited, but the wives they return home to.

6) a False Witness who pours out lies...I think of insurance fraud that goes on so that doctors are over compensated for services they did not perform. People who offer "get rich" quick schemes, or weight loss products that guarantee you to lose ___________number of pounds in 2 weeks. Our world tells us that it is alright to pour out untruth, but God hates it. A lie is a lie no matter how we package it!

7) A man who stirs up dissension among brothers...those who choose to carry tales, slandering others in order to make themselves look good, jealousy, competetion. I once read this story in a book by Chuck Swindoll: "He compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines who huddle together on a cold winter night. Swindoll said, "the colder it got outside the more they huddled together for warmth; but the closer they got to one another, the more they hurt one another with their sharp quills. And so in the lonely night of winter eventually they began to drift apart and wander out on their own and they froze to death in their loneliness." Christ has given us a better way...we are to forgive one another for the pokes we receive...that often allows us to stay together and keep warm.

Finally, I believe we are to show compassion for others and to hate these things in ourselves...our lives need to be transformed and we can do that through: a) prayer b) examination of our own lives c) repentance and d) commitment to knwoing God's Word and living by His grace.

Comments

[Margie]

Excellent Cindie.