Quick Audit!

Quick Audit!

There are six evils God truly hates and a seventh that is an abomination to him: Putting others down while considering yourself superior, spreading lies and rumors, spilling the blood of the innocent, plotting evil in your heart toward another, gloating over doing what’s plainly wrong, spouting lies in false testimony, and stirring up strife between friends. These are entirely despicable to God! Proverbs 6:16‭-‬19 TPT

Let it be clearly stated from the outset that the above is God's view, not man. This is not an attempt to sell something of value to you, but to state in clear terms what the standards of God are when it comes to walking with and working for Him. Hate is such a strong word, which is why its use here makes the message even more poignant: don't joke with what you are about to hear. 

So, what are the things God hates:

1. Putting others down while considering yourself superior: did you notice that no action is spelt out here, yet God, who sees the heart adn its machinations, knows when pride sets in. Pride does not announce its entrance, but its presence will always force itself out over time. Why would God hate pride: this was the same thing that angel Lucifer had then, and he was cast out of Heaven. God resists the proud;  there is nothing a proud person can get from God, except opposition. If man opposes you, God can plead your case and vindicate you. If it is God who is opposing you, who would you plead to? I check my life again: have I been filled with airs of my own importance, or do I place the interests of other people over and above my own? 

2. Spreading lies and rumours: here again, the outward action is seen, but the foundation of the action is not seen. When I testify about things I never saw or heard; when I am quick to pass on gossip without confirmation, and even if confirmed, passing it on to deliberately hurt another, what I have is not love by God's standard. God gave me two ears and eyes but one mouth, so that I can hear and see things twice as much as I talk about them. A fool is thought to be wise when s/he keeps the mouth shut. So, what do my lips enjoy: spreading truth or falsehood? 

3. Spilling the blood of the innocent: very clearly, as long as I did not create life, I must not take it. Life is in the blood, and just as the blood of Abel spoke in those days, so does the blood of Jesus speaks in these days. And before I think I need a knife, consider that even hatred of another person is murder by God's standard. So, how are my words? Do they support life or seek to take it away?

4. Plotting evil in your heart toward another: once again, the heart. That part of me that nobody, except God, can read. We assume that we are smart, and can keep our motives hidden. We forget that there is nothing God creates that will not answer to Him. Even the devil submits as he cannot fight God. Why then would I think that God cannot read evil intentions? Why would I think up evil against another person made in God's image as I am? I am warned: there are no secrets in my heart. And here we see again: no action has yet taken place, yet God has placed judgment on the plot. At the point where Judas agreed to betray Jesus, he was doomed. Every other step he took was just an addendum. The same applies to all who sit in the dark and plot or plan evil. You are doomed, unless you repent and return to Jesus. 

5. Gloating over doing what is plainly wrong: and here we see the actions tied to No 4 above. Now, you carry out the plot without remorse, and then you gloat. You go out and celebrate over the evil done. You see nothing wrong in what you have done, and even mock or fight those who oppose the evil that has been done. God's verdict remains clear: he hates sin. I could do wrong, but it will be wrong for me to remain in that wrong and not seek God out. If I return, His promise is that He will forgive and restore. Imagine the eternal consequences if I choose to remain in the wrong to the end. 

6. Spouting lies in false testimony: one mouth, yet two ears and two eyes. The mouth is called upon to speak about what is seen, heard or felt. Before the mouth is opened, consider if what is to be said is the truth as defined by God. Remember, God's truth isn't partial to anyone, and one of the features of a man that God brings to His Holy Hill is the man who swears to hid own hurt and does not change. Truth isn't relative to my comfort zone, but it is the same everywhere, no matter whose interests are as stake. Can God depend on me to uphold His own kind of truth? 

7. Stirring up strife between friends: and the last is also about relationships with other people. If there is no envy or jealousy, why would anyone seek to separate friends. If I am not a follower of the devil, why would deep friendship not make my heart glad? Oh, how pleasant it is for brethren to gather together in unity. That is where God commands his blessings. Why would I deprive myself of the mighty things that God wants to do in my life, and in relation to how I work with other people? Is it a suprise that God's greatest blessings are His gifts to the church, where each person supplies what makes the entire body grow the way He wants it to be? If I am the one who promotes strife, I am NOT a child of God, as God does not author or sustain strife. He can use it to advance His will, but He will not promote what He hates. 

When it comes to God and how he wants me to live, I have to take careful stock and carry out necessary actions. It is a mixture of thought and action. I cannot take one and ignore the other. God does not force His will on anyone, but you can be sure that if He hates anything, no bribe or hypocrisy will change His mind. If I am not willing to submit totally to God, I cannot claim any of the blessings of total surrender. He has warned; the reaction/response is left to me to decide. His time of favour is here.