God's Hate List

There are some things in life I really hate. I hate traffic (mainly because I hate waiting). I hate the dentist. I hate going to the doctor for a physical. I hate the government and their agenda to take away our freedom.

Did you know that God also has a hate list?

Text: Proverbs 6:16-19.

1. A proud look (pride)

We all know what a proud look is. You stick your nose up in the air, or you look down on others. God hates this look and attitude.

Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 29:23: “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.”

Why does God hate pride? For the answer, we must look at one of the most proud men in history, and what God did to humble him. Turn to Daniel 4. (Explain Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and how Daniel interprets it, then read verses 29-34.)

God had to teach Nebuchadnezzar that He was sovereign over his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride stole God’s glory and attempted to give it to someone who was undeserving. God hates pride because it steals the glory which He deserves. Pride is also a sin which often hinders one from submitting to the Lord. Pride was the sin of Lucifer, who considered himself greater than God Himself.

Notice how Nebuchadnezzar finishes his doxology—verse 37. He found out the hard way that God can humble the proud. God desires to get all the glory from your life, and therefore He hates pride.

2. A lying tongue (lies)

Proverbs 12:22: “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”

Why does God hate lying? Lying is an attack against the truth, and God is concerned with all truth. If you lie about something, even something small, God takes offense against it because you have chosen to oppose the truth.

Satan is called the father of lies. Lying is his main weapon which he uses to cause men, women, boys, and girls to fall into sin. Satan subtly comes to you and whispers a lie into your ear, trying to get you to turn against God or to fall into sin. And that is exactly why God hates lying so much! When we lie, we are acting just like the devil!

Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

God hates lying.

3. Hands that shed innocent blood (murder)

God looks down in disgust when one man murders another. No man should ever decide who should live and who should die. That decision is up to God, the giver of all life.

Why does God hate murder? Because we are made in the image of God, therefore God takes personal offense when a life is taken. For this reason God established capital punishment.

Genesis 9:6: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

God is a just God. He wants to see justice against those who have wronged others. We see this time and time again in the Old Testament, when God avenges Israel by bringing judgment on the surrounding heathen nations for the way they have mistreated His people.

God hates it when a man murders an innocent person and is not given the death sentence. God established capital punishment, and He expects it to be carried out. God hates abortion, which is murder concealed in the disguise of “a woman’s right to choose.” The child being aborted is innocent, and is often killed because of the mother’s sin! God hates it.

4. A heart that devises wicked imaginations (sinful thoughts)

Ezekiel 8:11-12: “And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seethe us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.”

Man, in his state of sinfulness, has conceived many wicked vices due to sinful thoughts. Pornography, gambling, prostitution, child predators, thievery—these were all conceived by sinful thoughts, which were then put into practice. Sinful thoughts are what fuel these industries.

Judges 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Why does God hate sinful thoughts? They are a blatant attack against the righteousness of God. Man conceives these things and is driven by his lust, whether that is for sex, money, or fulfillment. No thought is given about God. Instead the world says to do whatever makes you happy. Because of this, homosexuality is seen as okay, despite the fact that it is an obvious unnatural relationship. God hates it. God hates wicked imaginations.