The Kind of Love That Hates

"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him..." Proverbs 6:16 (NIV)

How do we decide what is good and what is evil? Is it really all a mater of personal opinion? Our postmodern world says, "It's up to you to decide." But Christians have a very simple definition of good and evil: What God says is "good" is good, and what God says is "evil" is evil.

When the writer of Proverbs says, "six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable..." this means that although the list is very specific, it is not exhaustive. It would be easy to add an eighth or a ninth:

The Lord hates...

...haughty eyes (the look of a person who thinks they are something great)

...a lying tongue (God hates lies)

...hands that shed innocent blood (use their power to destroy others)

...a heart that devises wicked schemes

...feet that are quick to rush into evil (they explore sin's boundaries)

...a false witness who pours out lies

...a man who stirs up dissension among brothers

Proverbs 6:17-19 (NIV)

The reason God hates these things is that they are all destructive to those He loves. God models the kind of love that hates what is evil. The Lord hates evil, and that means that we have to take sides.

The enemy's simple strategy

The enemy's strategy is very simple: He wants to convince your mind that what God says is "evil" is actually good, and what God says is "good" is actually evil.

He persuaded Eve that her horizons would be broadened by this knowledge of evil. "You shall be like God" (Genesis 3:5), he says, and once he has Eve thinking about the possibilities of evil, she is one step from disaster.

She yielded her mind to another definition of evil, and a divided mind left her vulnerable to temptation. God says to us, "Hate what is evil." If you are going to hate what is evil, the first step is that you must be able to identify it.

Transformation begins with the renewing of the mind: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2). The Spirit of God has this question for your mind: According to the Bible, does God love this or does He hate it?

LifeKEY by Colin S. Smith
Excerpted from...
Series - "Battles From the Boardroom of the Soul"
Message "Learning How to Hate"
Date - January 27, 2002

Photo Credit: kevinbussey.com