One major aspect of loving God is knowing Him, which includes knowing what He loves and what He hates. Because of God’s great love for us, He has revealed Himself to us so that we may have an intimate relationship with Him. Without extending His love to us first, we could have never loved Him to begin with (see 1John 4:19). Obviously, the greatest way to become intimate with God is to spend time with Him. One way to spend time with Him is to get into His Word, and let Him show us Who He is through Scripture. If we allow ourselves to get close enough, it can be like sitting on Daddy’s lap and reading His Word together with Him. Remember, Romans 8:15 says we received the Sprit of adoption whereby, “we cry Abba, Father,” and the word “Abba” means Daddy, which is a term of endearment. While in that place of intimacy, He can whisper those things that He wants us to know through His Spirit. In this fashion, reading the Bible becomes a less arduous task, and words on the pages come alive. If we are to conform to image of His dear Son, and be “like Father like son or daughter,” we need to think the way He thinks. As we spend time with Him in His Word, the way we think will conform more and more like His –this called “renewing the mind.” Though God is Love, there some things He hates. Some of which can be found in Proverbs 6:16-19:
“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” (emphases added, KJV).
The list is straightforward, however, to avoid self-deception it is best to avoid attaching these attributes to other people (i.e., “So and so has a proud look”). Sometimes it pays to look in the mirror and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if any of these things are hiding inside of us. Otherwise, it would be possible to fall under the category of those who have a plank in their own eyes, while looking at the spec in someone else’s (see Matthew 7:1-5). In fact, this can lead to owning the first on the list, “A proud look.” Pride is not our friend, and it has been the downfall of many. In fact, it often injects itself into the other things listed in this passage. Because of pride, people have lied, shed innocent blood, manufactured wicked plans, ran quickly into mischief, bore false witness, and caused division. As crazy as it may sound, people have even taken pride in the doing of these things. For us, however, we should despise even the thought of having the smallest amount of any of these things residing in ourselves. Furthermore, we should allow the Light of God’s Word to expose them, so we can see them, and rid ourselves of them in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we see one of these characteristics in another, we do not condemn them; we pray for them. The bottom line is asking for God’s wisdom, and act according to what He shows us.
