"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck." Proverbs 6:16-21
I used a deliberately made up word in the title to keep us casual...but we'll see where this goes. If you survived my last post and are still with me on this journey, I applaud you and thank you for taking my opinions with a grain of salt. I try to base what I am saying at least off of things I have heard from the Bible--though I am utterly horrible at finding the proper verse for each situation. With that said, let's begin.
A Proud Look (Pride)- I'm going to go ahead and tell you that to me this indicates a hatred of pride in its sinful form in general. It is ok by me to be proud of an accomplishment, proud of a child who is successful, or any other number of accomplishment based moments of Pride. It is much different to be a prideful person. I know many like this, and I have likely fallen into the category a time or two as well. Even though the 7 deadly sins are not Biblical--I'm wondering if this verse was inspiration for them.
Are we really that smart? Is there really anyone on this earth who knows all of the answers? Even the so-called greatest minds have had doubts and moments of ignorance. That being said, I will sum up simply with---you are not God. Neither am I. Do not be blinded by knowledge and arguments of men. Test men's words with the Bible and there wisdom will be found. Otherwise--I don't wanna hear it. Tell me all day that I came from a monkey and I'm still going to call BS on that. As far as I'm concerned I was created by God. He knew me even before I was conceived, and while I was in my mom's womb, He had his plan laid out of my life. I don't know where it's gonna take me, but I'm happy to be along for the ride.
A Lying Tongue (Lies) - This one really shouldn't need a big explanation. I've been super guilty my whole life of falling into the stigma of telling little white lies (normally to spare people's feelings). I have exaggerated for comedy sake, and occasionally have just flat out omitted information. According to God's definition, this could all be considered lying. And I'm not sure when society became so lie oriented..but I bet if I were to just flat out say the truth about a few people/things, there would be so much uproar, that I would have to resort back to my white lie/omission lifestyle. Sad, but true. In the words of Jack Nicholson, "You can't handle the truth." We can't handle the truth and so we lie. No matter how innocent our intent, a lie is a lie. We do our best as Christians not to lie---but we will. And Jesus is there to cover us and clean us when we do--no matter how well meaning we may have been.
Hands that shed innocent blood (murder/anger)- Matthew 5: 22-24 says to leave all anger behind and forgive those you have ill will towards prior to even thinking about being forgiven for your own sins (paraphrased obviously). I worked at a miserable job for 2 years and dealt with some of the most evil people I've ever known in my life. No matter how often they hurt me, physically, emotionally, spiritually, I always knew deep down, that I had to forgive them, before I would be forgiven. And so, time and time again I forgave my enemies, hoping they would change...when change didn't come, I still knew that I could not hold on to that anger. It came for a time, but it always would pass. It's hard to forgive people you think are worthless--but within everyone is value to God. No matter how Ghetto, backwards, mean spirited the person may be, they are God's creation. No one deserves forgiveness--but it is offered to those who will trust Christ---are we so vain that Christ can forgive our sin but we can't overlook what someone has done to us? I hope not.
A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations (Lust)- Proverbs 5-7 are in regards to adultery and the theme is lightly continued here. Actually not lightly at all. Read past the verses I've covered and you will see some pretty harsh judgment against those who would commit adultery. In Matthew 5, prior to the forgiveness verse, Jesus says that a man who looks upon a woman with lust has committed adultery with her already in his heart (paraphrased).
Guys have struggled, are struggling and will likely always struggle with temptation of the lustful sort. And whether you want to admit it or not, it's a real problem. If I had to pick a deadly sin that I could associate with, this would likely be my number 1. It's not that we go out of our way to lust after women---yet it still happens. (And keep in mind this works in reverse too ladies). This is a tough one I may have to re-visit later in more detail. Suffice to say..like all the other sins mentioned here, Christ can offer forgiveness. There is no sin too large...but true repentance comes with a desire to sincerely turn from the sin and live a pure life. I've said before and i'll say again---this is the hardest part.
feet that be swift in running to mischief (troublemakers)- There is enough trouble in the world without having to run out there and search for it. We've all grown up and experienced our own brands of childhood mischief. Keeping in mind that I am reading proverbs for the first time--I'm not sure how I might have acted had I seen this as a kid. Certainly I might have left Andy alone a bit more--and only been mischievous when drawn into it. Don't go looking for trouble folks--I think that's the gist.
If you've made it this far---congratulations----take a 5 minute break and come back for the continuation of Proverbs 6---
A false witness that speaketh lies (gossip/rumor mill)- At my previous job there were two individuals who we knew if they found something out, would have it spread around the company within 5 minutes. I often found myself in trouble for things I said in passing or out of frustration that were then taken out of context and spread around like wildfire. It's harder to defend yourself when the rumor is you said something you didn't. Or did something you didn't. Gossipers have got to be some of the worst ones out there. If you would like a better elaboration on this--visit my mom's most recent blog as she has more insight available than I currently do. http://laughingwithleeann.blogspot.com --"The game???? of Gossip" is the entry title.
He that soweth discord among brethren (rumors again)- I'm seeing a pattern here. I think we could summarize the things God hates by saying that He pretty much hates rumors, gossip, lies, murder, non-marital lust (that sounded odd)--and really all sin.
As I typed this out---if you noticed towards the end---it got less lengthy. I think we can just call sin what it is. You may be telling white lies to spare feelings. You may be spreading the latest news around the office that may or may not be true. You may have anger in your heart towards someone. You may be struggling with lustful thoughts. You may even be doubting something you were once sure of because your prideful mind has suggested that you are smarter than any ancient text out there. Wherever you are friends, I implore you, turn to the One who can heal these wounds. I cannot do it for you--Lord knows I would if i could. I truly want to see everyone find the peace and joy that comes from living (as best we can) a life of obedience and desire for Christ. I am still not perfect---and we still have 24 Proverbs to go...but if you take nothing else from my ramblings--know that I speak truth in regards to the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ. Don't judge Christians by what you see on the news (it is clearly skewed against us). Look to those people you admire or people you grew up with who are trying their best to live the Christian walk...and decide if there isn't something just a little bit better about their outlook--their disposition. I promise you. When You truly surrender to God's will--there is nothing you can't accomplish.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting." John 3:16
Be blessed everyone :)
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