Seven Things That God Hates

There can be the tendency to falsely presume that because the Bible says that “God is love”, then it means that God does not have the capacity to hate.
However even though God is love, the Bible reveals in many different passages that God is also capable of expressing hate.
So what are the things that God hates and why should we hate them too?

 

Below are 7 Things God Hates

Proverbs 6:16-19 says: There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18  a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19  a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Let’s take a detailed look at these 7 Things That God hates…

 

1. God hates a Proud Mentality
Proverbs 6:17 says that God hates “haughty eyes”. Pride is the root of all sin. It is because of pride that Lucifer became the fallen angel known as satan or the devil (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:14-18; Revelation 12:7-9)

Pride can be defined as having conceit, boastfulness, narcissism, vanity and egotism over one’s own appearance, status in life and accomplishes. Pride is when we seek the glory that God alone deserves. It is when we think that we are better than others based on our perceived status, appearance, possessions and accomplishments. Pride is the opposite of humility.

Romans 12:3 says that we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.

However, pride leads a person to think that he/she is better than others. Pride blinds a person from perceiving him/herself in a correct and truthful way. Pride blinds us from God’s truth and God’s reality.
For example, pride led Lucifer to believe that he could become just like God and rule just like God. Pride made him forget that he was just a creation and not the Creator. Pride led Lucifer to believe that he was better than the other angels and all of creation. Pride led him to think that he could overthrow God instead of submitting to the Lord.

Unfortunately, the same pride that infected the devil is the same pride that infects humanity today. It is the same pride that draws us away from God and into a life of sin.

 Proverbs 8:13 says: The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

 Philippians 2:3 says: Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

 Proverbs 21:4 says: Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin.

 

2. God hates a Lying Tongue
Proverbs 6:17 says that God hates “a lying tongue”. Therefore God hates all forms of deceit and falsehoods that come from the mouth.

The Bible says that satan is the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and therefore God hates a lying tongue because deceptive speech is a rebellious act against God’s holy and righteous nature.

In the beginning the devil lied to Adam and Eve, that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, then they would be just like God. However, satan’s lie and Adam’s disobedience led to catastrophic consequences which impacted the entire human race and all of creation (Genesis 3:1-24).

Therefore God hates falsehoods or any kind of misrepresentation of the truth. God’s very nature is that He is incapable of lying and so He hates it when lies are spoken.

Proverbs 12:22 NLT says: The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in those who tell the truth.

Colossians 3:9 says: Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

 

3. God hates Murderous Acts & Thoughts
Proverbs 6:17 says God hates “hands that shed innocent blood”. For example, we live in a world where more than 45 million unborn babies are killed every year. So per day, more than 100000 unborn babies are sacrificed at the altar of abortion. These unborn babies did nothing wrong to anyone except exist in the womb of their mothers.

According to Scripture, the act of murder or the shedding of innocent blood should not only be confined to the physical killing of another human being. Instead, according to Jesus, our very hateful thoughts or words are just as good as committing cold-blooded murder.

In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’  22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

1 John 3:12-15 says: We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous… 15  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

 

4. God hates a Culture & Habit of Scheming Wicked Plans
Proverbs 6:18 says God hates “a heart that devises wicked plans”. A wicked mindset is toxic and dangerous to society and humanity.

We live in a world where people are constantly scheming devious plans and acts in an effort to benefit financially or to fulfill one’s own personal lusts and egos.

In Matthew 15:19-20 Jesus says “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20  These are what defile a person”

So a heart that continuously thinks of wicked schemes is a toxic attitude that actively rebels against God and all things that are good and pure in the sight of God.
A wicked heart is not only defiled, but it seeks to destroy others and to defile its environment. Therefore wicked behavior is like a cancer which spreads and destroys.

In Genesis 6:5 it says that man’s heart had become so defiled and corrupted to the extent that “the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This led to God’s judgment through the Great Flood with Noah’s family being the only survivors.

 

5. God hates a Person’s Lust or Desire to Seek After Evil
Proverbs 6:18 says God hates “feet that make haste to run to evil”. In the Bible we are encouraged to flee from evil and to cling to what is good.

Romans 12:9 says we should “… abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good”

God hates it when people’s natural inclination to any life situation or circumstance is to respond with an evil act – or to seek an evil solution.
For example, many people can have a lust or desire to visit fortune tellers, spirit mediums or any occult or New Age practice in order to achieve various desired objectives. God calls these things an abomination (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Others may have an inclination to always retaliate evil with evil, or an eye for an eye. However the Bible warns against returning an eye for an eye (Matthew 5:38-48; Romans 12:19-20).

Romans 12:21 says: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good

 

6. God hates a Habit of Slander & Gossip
Proverbs 6:18 says God hates “a false witness who breathes out lies”. In other words, God hates it when people speak falsehoods about others.

To slander means the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation; to make false and damaging statements about (someone).

One of the Ten Commandments is that man shall not bear false witness against his neighbor (Exodus 20:16). In other words, we should never speak falsehoods about other people because speaking lies is a characteristic of satan himself who is “the father of lies” (John 8:44).

A culture of slandering and gossiping others destroys the reputation of people who are otherwise innocent and blameless.

James 3:5-12 describes the tongue as “… great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness” and a “… restless evil, full of deadly poison” and that blessing and cursing should not come from the same mouth.

In Matthew 12:36-37 Jesus says: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,  37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Ephesians 4:29 says: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

 

7. God hates it when People Sow Division & Strife
Proverbs 6:19 says God hates “one who sows discord among brothers”.

Romans 16:17 says: I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

God hates it when people use lies, manipulation and all kinds of deception in order to destroy the unity of others.

Therefore destructive doctrines, destructive ideologies and destructive practices by people, can sow divisions and strife within a family, a church or any grouping where there is supposed to be genuine godly unity.

 

Conclusion

God hates sin and He hates how humanity has been defiled and corrupted by the sin that dwells within us.
However God’s remedy for sin is found through Jesus Christ and the blood Christ shed on the cross to pay for our sins. Therefore without Jesus Christ, there is no forgiveness of sins.

Romans 5:8 says: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 2:2 says that Christ is the “propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross because as sinners, we could not pay the debt for sin ourselves. Our own good works are not enough to earn God’s forgiveness and God’s salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Instead it is the blood of Jesus Christ that was the perfect payment for our sins. Ephesians 1:7 says: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

So we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and not of our own effort or works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It is through Jesus Christ that we are given a new heart; a new heart that seeks after God; a new heart that hates evil because God Himself also hates evil and a new heart that seeks to become more like Jesus Christ and obey the word of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

 

 

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