Proverbs 6

If there is one, overarching theme to the Bible, it must be that God is love. He is like a fierce Momma Bear who will do anything, absolutely anything, to protect His children. (And, you know, we’re all His children.) But because we spend so much time using that word love to describe God, it’s easy to forget that the Bible describes Him as hating things, too. (Notice I said things, not people.)

Now really, for those of you who are parents, does this come as a big shock? If you have children, you know that you have felt (or would feel) intense hatred for anything that would harm or even destroy your child. Who would say they love leukemia? Or car accidents? Or drugs and alcohol? Anything that poses a threat to the wellbeing of my child would go on the list of things I hate.

And God is no different. Solomon spelled it out in today’s chapter: “There are six things the Lord hates. There are seven things he cannot stand: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people, a mind that thinks up evil plans, feet that are quick to do evil, a witness who lies, and someone who starts arguments among families.” (vs 16-19)

Why does God hate all these things? Because they pose a threat to our wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around us. Because they separate us from Him. And nothing separates us more than lying.

That’s the thing that struck me most about this list—lying was mentioned twice. Out of all the things the Lord could say He hates, lying is mentioned not once, but twice. But, when you think about it, there’s a good reason why lying is top on the list of God’s abominations. After all, if we’re not willing to deal in reality, how can we expect God to communicate with us? If we can’t ultimately be honest with Him or ourselves, how will He get through to us?

Because God loves us so much, I think He hates anything and everything that harms us. He hates anything and everything that threatens to ultimately destroy our wellbeing. He hates anything and everything that separates us from Him. He will do anything, absolutely anything, to protect us—even telling us right to our face that He hates what we’re doing.