Yesterday I shared thoughts on some attitudes which the Bible expressly says that God loves, encouraging us to use our New Year Resolution energies in seeking to emulate those Godly character traits. Today I invite you to take a look at the other side of God’s heart – the things He dislikes to the point of inspiring the strongest language in the Bible to describe His dislike. These are attitudes and behaviours we should want to avoid. They should lead us to resolutions that declare, “I resolve to not do that, or not be that way any more, but rather, to do and be the opposite!”

For our benefit God had Solomon list the things He detests, conveniently in one single passage, Proverbs 6:16-19, which says:

¹⁶ Six things Adonai (The LORD) hates,
yes, seven are abominations to Him:
¹⁷ haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet that run to evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who spouts lies,
and one who stirs up strife among brothers.

I used to wonder why Solomon first says ‘six things’ and then expands the list to seven abominations, but the reason seems to be the repetition of one particular character trait – dishonesty. Verse 17 lists “a lying tongue” and verse 19 lists “a false witness who spouts lies.” Solomon saw fit to differentiate between simple fabrication (generally telling tall tales) and specifically spouting falsehoods about someone (giving a false testimony).

This difference reminds me of something I overheard when I was a young teen. My parents had occasion to confront a young man in the district where we lived, about his attempt to deceive them about something. When they used the word “lie” the youth retorted, “Mi no tell lie! Mi ongle chat weh nuh guh suh!” (I don’t tell lies! I only say things that are not factual.) He seemed to mean that if his report was a simple fabrication that did not make it a lie. It only seemed to him to be a lie if it was damaging to someone. This lie about lies may be a more common deception than we think.

It’s no accident that lying is the only trait which is repeated in this list of abominations to The LORD. To me it’s obvious that God really detests lying and loves honesty. Proverbs 12:22 states both sides: “Lying lips are detestable to Adonai, but those who act faithfully are His delight.” However, Scripture does not acknowledge the existence of such things as “a little white lie” or “a big, fat lie.” To God, the deliberate communication of a falsehood is lying, and the one who makes a habit of communicating falsehoods is a liar. Ouch, that may sound harsh, so rather than present other Scriptures which show the final outcome of habitual lying (Scriptures which may sound even harsher) I’ll go back to underscore the positive side of Proverbs 12:22, “Those who act faithfully are His delight.” On that verse we can build a double-edged resolution, resolving on one edge to avoid lies like the plague, and on the other edge resolving to communicate and behave as ‘faithfully’ (truthfully, trust-worthily) as possible, going forward in 2021.

Solomon’s list had started with “haughty eyes” (“a proud look” in another translation). This is a manifestation of pride. God’s detesting of pride is not just in His heart; it affects His actions and His responses to us. A truth repeated three times in Scripture says “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5) If you feel as if God has been resisting you in 2020 (if you felt as if His hand was pushing back against you) then it’s time to make a new resolution to act on the advice Peter’s offers immediately after re-stating the facts of Proverbs 3:34. He says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may lift you up at the appropriate time.”

The world system does not value humility, but God does. If we’re seeking to please our God rather than seeking praise from the world, let’s resolve to humble ourselves before the Lord and towards each other (Ephesians 5:21, 1 Peter 5:5) so that His mighty hand will graciously propel us forward rather than resist us as we venture into 2021.

The most ‘obvious’ abominations in Solomon’s listing are “hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, and feet that run to evil” (verses 17-18). These are things all right thinking people would normally avoid, and may not even need to make resolutions in this regard. However, as the world turns in 2021, we may see evil being called good to an even greater extent than it has been in recent years; so it is wise to arm ourselves in advance with the resolve to resist the devil’s ever-evolving attempts to involve us in the shedding of innocent blood (for example unborn babies), the planning of ungodly schemes that lead to damaging outcomes for others, and the mindless rush toward evil actions and evil destinations that sometimes happens to a mob. Yes, let’s resolve to continue, against all odds, to agree with God in what He calls evil and what He calls good, regardless of the moral decay with which the world attempts to infect us.

Finally, Solomon’s list of things that God detests ends with “one who stirs up strife among brothers.” Wow, why is that such anathema to God? That’s a good question, which calls for a careful answer, tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will only be January 3. We’ll have 362 more days to implement the resolution we can get out of this last verse. May God bless you out of this blog theme thus far.