"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community."
Proverbs 6:16-19

1. DOES GOD REALLY HATE?

“For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong.”
God - Isaiah 61:8

“do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.”
God - Zechariah 8:17

“You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
Jesus - Revelation 2:6

God hates sinful actions and attitudes. But God goes a step further. And this is where our comfort level shifts a bit. God also shares that he hates individuals.

"The arrogant cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all who do wrong."
Psalm 5:5

God hates. God hates the sin. And God hates the sinner.

2. HOW CAN GOD HATE WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS GOD IS LOVE?

. . . God is love.
1 John 4:8

How can God be love in all its fulness and all its beauty and at the same time hate? That seems like a contradiction to us.

Love and hate are really two sides of the same coin: you can’t “love” a specific quality or attribute without “hating” its opposite.

This raises an amazing truth. It is the hatred, the natural response of a holy God to our sin, that makes His love toward us so incredibly spectacular.

If God did not hate our sin would he really love us, truly love us?

3. CAN GOD LOVE AND HATE AT THE SAME TIME?

Yes.

God’s hate is rooted in His perfect righteousness, justice and holiness.

God’s hate does not negate His love and mercy. If anything, His hate for what we have done is connected with his deep love for us so much so that it longs for us to experience repentance, redemption, and restoration.

HEALTHY PEOPLE HATE THE SAME THINGS GOD HATES.

God longs for us to be free from the hurts and the hang-ups and the habits that grip our lives and control us. And one of the key inner motivations that God can use in our lives to effect that change is for us to hate the thing that has a grip on us. It’s super hard to change something you love doing. It’s important to hate what God hates so we can live the way God longs for us to live.

God hates . . . HAUGHTY EYES

"You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty."
Psalm 18:27

". . . whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate."
God - Psalm 101:5

"We hear a great deal about the inferiority complex, but the superiority complex of pride is seldom spoken of." - Billy Graham

"Make no mistake, pride is the greatest sin. It is the Devil’s most effective and destructive tool. Pride leads to every other vice. It is an anti-God state of mind. It is pride that has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.” - C S Lewis

Listen to Jesus describing what he is like on the inside. He says,

". . . learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. . ."
Jesus - Matthew 11:29

Jesus is humble. Jesus is God. Therefore, God is humble.

Pride is a sin that drives us to engage in all kinds of other sins and not just the other six in that list of things God hates.

HAUGHTY EYES is an extension and mutation of pride.

Haughty eyes paint the image of a person who stands over others and looks down on them.

"The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7

When we are gripped by haughty eyes we look at externals. We act as a judge and sentence a person to be less than we are.

“Do not judge others” in Matthew 7:1

And all kinds of sin and hurt and hatred come from haughty eyes.

It’s haughty eyes that drive segregation, racism, separatism, prejudice, bigotry and intolerance. What is at the heart of slavery?

HEALTHY PEOPLE HATE THE SAME THINGS GOD HATES.

TO BE HEALTHY WE NEED TO GROW IN OUR HATRED OF THE SAME THINGS THAT GOD HATES.