Proverbs 6 Devotional

What the LORD Hates

Proverbs 6 moves quickly: get free from a rash pledge, learn from the ant that works with no one standing over it (6:6-8), and beware the troublemaker. Then it pauses on a list of things the LORD hates (6:16-19). It reads like a portrait of a whole person turned the wrong way: arrogant eyes, deceitful speech, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots harm, feet that hurry toward evil, a witness who lies, and someone who sets brothers against each other.

Notice where the list ends. The final item is division within a family or community. The damage done by a lie or a stirred-up quarrel is not small to God. Most readers will see themselves somewhere in this list. But naming what God hates also shows what he loves: humility, truth, innocent life, and peace between brothers. And the God who hates discord made peace with people who were his enemies, through the death of his Son (Romans 5:10). Those he has reconciled are free to become peacemakers.

To think about: Is there a relationship where your words have been stirring up division, and what would it look like to pursue peace there this week?