Many moons ago, while attending high school, I was in the youth choir at St. Michael’s United Methodist Church. One Sunday morning we offered up the old spiritual, “Lord, I Want to be a Christian in my Heart.” Now I’m not what you might call a good singer, but for some reason I was selected to lead one of the verses. Oh boy. We all stood to sing and when it was my turn to go solo, I recall starting out in a deep tone of voice: “Lord, I Want…” Then, without rhyme or reason, I shift into a much higher pitch, “…to be like Jesus, in my heart, in my heart.” Deep voice again: “Lord, I want…” Then high pitch: “…to be like Jesus, in my heart.” It was a joyful noise unto the Lord, with the emphasis on “noise.”
I remember my aunt Ella Mae making fun of me afterwards. It’s one of those embarrassing moments from my youth that I can look back on and laugh. I still can’t carry a note in a bucket. But that song and that awkward moment planted a precious seed of faith in my young heart - “Lord, I want to be like Jesus…”
The Bible declares the natural man does not have the capacity to discern the things of God. Spiritual matters are "foolishness" to the unconverted, so says 1 Corinthians 2:14. But those who are redeemed have the mind [understanding] of Christ (v.16). How so? Via the Holy Scriptures and the illuminating work of the Spirit of God, believers have access to the very thoughts and ways of God. That's awesome! Christians can rejoice in the fact that even though we're strangers and pilgrims in this world, we are blessed to have God's Spirit and God's Word to guide us through this barren land (Psalm 119:19).
Furthermore, as children of the Most High, we are to grow more and more like our wonderful Savior. Ephesians 5:1 exhorts us to be "imitators of God." That’s a powerful concept – to be an imitator of God! According to 2 Corinthians 3:18, when we behold, as in a mirror, the glory of our Lord in the Old and New Testament, the Spirit of God gradually transforms us into the image of Christ, from glory to glory. This is part of the supernatural, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as we yield to the inspired Word of God. The highest calling of all believers is to grow in likeness to the Lord while serving Him in this fallen world (see Matthew 5:43-48).
Quick recap: Because believers possess the Spirit of God and have access to the Word of God, we are called to grow in God-likeness, to be like Jesus. But what does that mean? How can we be imitators of the Almighty God? One way we can become more God-like is to love what His Word says He loves and to hate what His Word says He hates. So, let’s consider what God hates, and as we do so, we can ask ourselves, “Do I hate what God hates?”
The classic passage many people reference when examining what God hates is Proverbs 6:16-19, which begins with: “These six things the LORD hates,…” This list is obviously a good place to start, but I find it helpful to back up a few verses to where we’re told about God’s judgment upon the wicked man. Let’s see what God hates by starting with Proverbs 6:12-15 NKJV:
“A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.”
Before God gives us a list of what He hates, He shows us a "worthless" person (lit. a man of Belial). This wicked man is actively engaged in perversion and deception. He signals his bad intentions to his partners. He's continuously devising evil schemes. He sows discord in families, churches, communities or nations. This wicked person is a menace to society, THEREFORE the Most High God will punish him according to his evil deeds. God's Word says this person shall be suddenly broken without remedy. Psalm 5:5-6 tells us: “The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”
So, after we learn of God’s stern judgment that awaits the boastful, we are provided in Proverbs 6:16-19, with a detailed list of seven actions/attitudes that God hates:
“These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”
A proud look is the first thing on the list! "Do not love the world or the things in the world...For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:15,16). I’m sure you noticed this list of seven sins includes many of the same evils we just saw in the wicked man, the one who will be suddenly destroyed by the LORD. So what’s the point? God not only hates these evils, He will judge those who do them! He not only abhors sin, He punishes sinners - sometimes in a sudden and dramatic fashion.
Bible commentator Matthew Henry states, “Those who, by tale-bearing and slandering, by carrying ill-natured stories, aggravating every thing that is said and done, and by suggesting jealousies and evil surmises, blow the coals of contention, are preparing for themselves a fire of the same nature. – Let us then shun all such practices, and watch and pray against every propensity to them, and avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank in society.”
We are not God and it’s not our place to punish sinners. Our judgment is flawed but God’s judgment will fit the crime perfectly (Rom.2:3-6). However, this does not mean we should be neutral or nonchalant regarding sin. The inspired proverb states, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate” (8:13). Check this out. “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 12:22), which means lying lips disgust God and arouses His hatred. Then we find: “A righteous man hates lies” (Proverbs 13:5). Why does a righteous person hate lies? The righteous hate lies because God hates lies, and the righteous hate whatever God hates!
So, many moons later, I ask myself, “Do I truly love the LORD? Do I really want to be like Jesus?” If so, Psalm 97:10 says, “You who love the LORD, hate evil!” If I say I love the LORD, I must hate evil, because the righteous love what God loves and they hate what God hates. Do I hate to see these seven sins in others? Do I..."avoid, with marked disapproval, all who are guilty of them, whatever may be their rank in society”? And most importantly, as Matthew Henry states, “These things which God hates, we must hate in ourselves; it is nothing to hate them in others.”
Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!
Brother Quick