Proverbs 6: 16-19 - Who's counting . . . . . . .

"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes,feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."

Now, if anyone ever tells you that God does not hate, here's your Scripture.  He most certainly does.  And not only these seven, but God hates ALL sin.  There isn't one that He does not hate.  God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.   Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I take that back.  Verse 19 says God hates a "false witness", which is a person, and "a man who stirs up dissension...", another person.  Hmmmmmm....... interesting, ..................

So let's get right into the meat of the matter.  First, we see that several parts of the body come into play here:  the eyes, tongue, hands, heart and feet.  The eyes take it all in, the heart devises the wicked schemes, the tongue flaps about it, and the hands and feet carry out the details. 

The sins represented by all these body parts are arrogance and pride;  lies;  murder;  deceit;  eagerness to do wrong; slander and gossip;  and dissension and contention.  Wow, that's quite the grouping.  Then there's the false witness and the man bringing discord into the church.  Seems like it's all tied up in a tidy little package here.  What's even more tragic is that this is being addressed to the believer - these are the sins OF THE church.

We cannot clean up the whole church, that's the work of the Holy Spirit.  But we can help Him by beginning with ourselves.  We can examine our own lives and ask God to show us where we are out of sync with Him.  Then we can ask Him to help us change so that we may become more like Jesus.  I never pray for God to fix the other person, I pray for Him to fix me.  Change MY heart, make ME like You, take away MY sinful attitudes, destroy the unholy trinity:  me, myself, and I. 

"Oh Lord my God, my heart's desire is to be humble, not arrogant.  I always want to be truthful, not a liar or a deceiver.  I want to bring forth life, both spiritual and natural, not death.  I want to be a peacemaker, not a dissenter.  I want to be like you, Jesus.  Change MY  heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Take not Your Holy Spirit from me, but renew in me the joy of Your salvation, that others would see You in me, and would receive you as Lord and Master.  Let my life be a glory to Your Name.  Amen."

FOR FURTHER STUDY:


Job 33:26
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 19:5
Psalm 55:19
Ecclesiastes 8:1
Jeremiah 7:3-11
Romans 14:17