"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."
Proverbs 6:16
This list is interesting. I don't think that these are the things that I would have chosen if I were to choose a list of things that the Lord hates, but maybe that is because I want that list to be much further away from my own actions than this list is. :)
Talking about proud looks reminds me of the parable in Luke 14:7 about where to sit at a wedding... that you should sit in a lower place than you think you deserve so that you don't get embarrassed when someone asks you to move down. Kind of reminds me of Thanksgivings when I was younger, and who had to sit at the "kid table." :) Honestly some good advice to always be willing to symbolically take the lower position... removes a lot of competitive angst from our lives.
Lying tongues, wicked imaginations, and false witnesses that speak lies all seem to be going in a similar direction with regard to deception, but specific types of deception that can harm others. Obviously basing relationships or court testimony on lies can be super harmful... but the wicked imagination thing made me think of books or movies that are all about evil things, and that promote bad things or the triumph of the bad guys. Even though we understand it is fiction, it can still harm us if we learn to root for or glorify evil.
Innocent blood covers murder, but perhaps other things as well. I sure hope it doesn't cover mosquitoes, but I suppose it could. It is a good reminder that we need to take a closer look at our actions and consider and respect the life that God grants, not only to ourselves, but to other creatures.
The sowing discord thing seems like one of the most common ones to me. So many things could fall under that... gossip, political rants, complaints--really, anything that doesn't promote love and unity. I think this one likely requires some serious thought about how to avoid sowing discord in our lives.
Today, let's think about some of these things, and try not to do the things the Lord hates. Let's work on not running quickly into mischief, or into any of the rest of these questionable activities. Let's talk to God about how we can do better and be better in our lives, and as examples to others.
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."
Proverbs 6:16
This list is interesting. I don't think that these are the things that I would have chosen if I were to choose a list of things that the Lord hates, but maybe that is because I want that list to be much further away from my own actions than this list is. :)
Talking about proud looks reminds me of the parable in Luke 14:7 about where to sit at a wedding... that you should sit in a lower place than you think you deserve so that you don't get embarrassed when someone asks you to move down. Kind of reminds me of Thanksgivings when I was younger, and who had to sit at the "kid table." :) Honestly some good advice to always be willing to symbolically take the lower position... removes a lot of competitive angst from our lives.
Lying tongues, wicked imaginations, and false witnesses that speak lies all seem to be going in a similar direction with regard to deception, but specific types of deception that can harm others. Obviously basing relationships or court testimony on lies can be super harmful... but the wicked imagination thing made me think of books or movies that are all about evil things, and that promote bad things or the triumph of the bad guys. Even though we understand it is fiction, it can still harm us if we learn to root for or glorify evil.
Innocent blood covers murder, but perhaps other things as well. I sure hope it doesn't cover mosquitoes, but I suppose it could. It is a good reminder that we need to take a closer look at our actions and consider and respect the life that God grants, not only to ourselves, but to other creatures.
The sowing discord thing seems like one of the most common ones to me. So many things could fall under that... gossip, political rants, complaints--really, anything that doesn't promote love and unity. I think this one likely requires some serious thought about how to avoid sowing discord in our lives.
Today, let's think about some of these things, and try not to do the things the Lord hates. Let's work on not running quickly into mischief, or into any of the rest of these questionable activities. Let's talk to God about how we can do better and be better in our lives, and as examples to others.
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