Proverbs 6:16

"There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man that stirs up dissension amongst the brethren." (emphasis mine)

When I see a scripture that talks about God hating something, my ears perk right up. I want to hate what God hates, and love what God loves. In this verse of scripture, the Lord hates the first 6 things listed, but the seventh thing is detestable to him.

Hate is defined as: to feel hostility towards, to dislike intensely, or to feel extreme aversion about something. Detestable comes from the root word, detest, which comes from the word "detestari" (latin), meaning to "call down a curse upon" or to "bear witness against." Anything God calls down a curse upon is a very serious matter.

I know in the Body of Christ, while we are all serving the Lord, times can get really tough for alot of us. We all go through trials and tribulations. But there is nothing more hurtful, in my opinion, than when the 'one that takes sweet counsel with me in the temple of God lifts up their heel against me.' These were David's words in the Psalms. As a matter of a fact, David said if it were his enemy, it would be ok..but not one that stands in God's place of worship.

None of us are perfect..and all of us have made one grudging comment or another about someone or something in the Body of Christ. "Her perfume is too loud..his pants are too short..the service is too long..the choir is too loud..her skirt is too colorful.." This is not the stuff God detests. No, it is merely flesh having a flesh fit. We ALL have been guilty of this.

There are times I have had to "vent" my feelings about a brother or sister to a SAFE sister in the Lord (or brother) that I KNOW will ultimately lead me to see that I am having a flesh fit, and most of the time, that conversation ends with my repenting and then praying for the person that I seem to have a problem with. God honors that. It is part of the ministry of reconciliation.

What God HATES is when others say destructive things about another, whether truth or fiction, with the intent to reduce that person to a value less than trash. We have to guard our ears and our tongues from hearing evil, destructive words about a person Christ died for. Again, I am not talking flesh..I am talking about an evil intent. You will know the difference between a person venting and a person destroying. Trust me, the Holy Spirit is very faithful with this.

So what's my point? Let's not get so carried away in our flesh about another brother or sister. If something is bothering us so deeply, let us go to that person and discuss it. More often than not, I have found that it was not them that had the issue, it was me. And if that brother or sister is not approachable, then confide your heart in someone safe and balanced that will lead you to pray for the other person. Don't call someone that you know will tear another person up..no!

We are the Body of Christ. Simply put, we are nothing without one another. And those that are in the Body to sow dissension, the Lord will do the work of removing that person. But we have to remember that our Lord is gracious, abounding in love, slow to anger, not willing that none would perish, but that all would be saved. Let that be our character. And let God do the separating of the wheat from the tare.

We go after principalities...not personalities.

XtremeFaith