[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World whiteboard.]
Seven Things God Hates | Proverbs 6:16-19 Explained
God gives a clear list of seven things He hates. But what makes these behaviors especially disturbing is that they’re all characteristics of Satan the Devil. Every single one.
And if God chose to spell them out this plainly, we should pay attention, because we’re all vulnerable if we’re not watching ourselves.
1. God Hates Pride
It starts with what He calls “a proud look.” That look of arrogance, haughtiness, or a sense of superiority—when someone thinks he’s better than others or has an exaggerated sense of his own importance or abilities.
Pride isn’t just a bad personality trait. It’s the very attitude that started Satan’s downfall. Scripture describes this clearly.
Your heart was lifted up [or proud] because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor… (Ezekiel 28:17).
For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13–14).
That’s the danger. Pride makes you forget your place before God.
And this is why He hates it—because none of us is better than another, and we’re certainly not better than Him.
- Pride leads to strife (Proverbs 13:10).
- It leads to destruction of relationships (Proverbs 16:18).
- It leads to spiritual blindness and the inability to see yourself as you truly are (Revelation 3:17).
- Pride doesn’t just lift you up, it cuts you off.
We all have some level of it to overcome. But when someone lets pride consume him, he becomes hard to be around precisely because he believes he’s better than everyone else. And once a person thinks he’s above others, he usually slips into the trap of thinking he has nothing to change, nothing to improve.
The book of Revelation warns about this attitude.
Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked… I counsel you to… anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see (Revelation 3:17–18).
Pride convinces you you’re fine, while spiritually you’re in danger.
And it’s because of this that Proverbs 26:12 says:
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Though, if you struggle with pride, God will grant repentance to those who humble themselves.
2. God Hates a Lying Tongue
The second thing God calls out is “a lying tongue.”
And here’s the blunt truth: When can you believe a liar? Never, even when they’re telling the truth. Why? Because someone who’s okay with lying will say whatever gets them the result they want—truth or lie, it makes no difference to them.
If truth is optional to someone, trust becomes impossible.
A liar simply cannot be trusted. Any time or energy spent trying to figure out which statements are true and which are lies is ultimately futile.
And Scripture shows us exactly where lying comes from.
Satan is the originator of lies. He committed the first recorded one in the Bible, when he said, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).
Jesus was even more direct. He said Satan “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Lies aren’t just harmful on a personal level—they connect us to Satan’s character, not God’s.
Lying is destructive. It hurts the person being lied to, and it damages the character of the one telling the lie. And rebuilding trust afterward? It takes time—and can be extremely difficult.
Lying leads to a seared conscience (1 Timothy 4:2). And it becomes nearly impossible for anyone, including God, to trust that person’s words.
Once a person has seared his conscience through telling lies (1 Timothy 4:2), how can anyone, including God, trust him?
And if there isn’t genuine repentance from the heart, the Bible is absolutely clear.
All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire (Revelation 21:8).
But thankfully, if you’ve struggled with lying, God in His loving mercy will grant repentance if you seek it and commit to stand in the truth.
3. God Hates Hands That Shed Innocent Blood
The third thing God hates, are “hands that shed innocent blood.”
The shedding of innocent blood is murder, which breaks the sixth commandment, and is repugnant in God’s eyes.
Innocence matters to God. And He notices when it’s violated.
Satan the Devil “was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). And he instigated the first murder; that of Cain killing innocent Abel.
Sadly, we still see this evil today.
One of the most heartbreaking examples is when a shooter enters a school and harms innocent students and teachers. When we see this, we are all grieved by it, and everyone recognizes the murderer as guilty of shedding innocent blood.
Another example is the termination of babies still in their mother’s womb. The child has done nothing deserving of being killed. Yet this is considered acceptable by many—leading to tens of millions of innocent deaths every year.
Whether ancient or modern, the pattern is the same—innocent lives taken, and God calling it what it is.
This is what God told Israel about killing their children:
They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works… (Psalm 106:37–39).
And then there’s war—murder on a massive scale. Oftentimes innocent civilians make up much of the casualties in war:
- Those who did nothing to deserve to die.
- Those not holding weapons.
- Those who wish the conflict wasn’t happening.
- Those who don’t even know why it’s happening.
God condemned the leaders of ancient times for exactly this.
Your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, for shedding innocent blood, and practicing oppression and violence (Jeremiah 22:17).
Then there is one area many don’t think about: Ultimately, the protection of innocent blood is one of the reasons why the Church of God is responsible for preaching the Gospel and warning of the coming tribulation. We’re told:
Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds (Proverbs 24:11–12)?
Ezekiel 33 paints a picture of how God sees the death of those NOT warned of impending destruction. He gives an example of a watchman over a city, whose job it is to warn the people if he sees danger on the horizon (maybe an invading army). If the watchman sees the danger coming and does not warn the people, and the people die, God holds the watchman accountable for their innocent blood.
However, if the watchman does warn the people, then he has done his duty and they are no longer “innocent” in the sense that they are aware of the coming danger and it is their responsibility to take action. Their blood is no longer on the head of the watchman.
God sees the killing of the innocent as injustice—and He holds the murderer guilty.
But this doesn’t mean a person has to have committed the act of murder to be guilty.
Jesus taught in Matthew 5 that to harbor hate for someone is the spirit of murder and makes us guilty.
Thankfully, God is full of mercy and will forgive those who confess their sins, repent, and ask for forgiveness.
4. God Hates a Heart That Plans Evil
The fourth thing God hates listed in Proverbs 6 is “a heart that devises wicked plans.”
When a person allows his mind to plan out evil, it’s an embracing of that way. That person has removed the guards of his heart and given himself over to wickedness. And this is different from sinning in weakness.
Planning evil isn’t accidental—it’s intentional.
God says:
Woe to those who devise iniquity, and work out evil on their beds… (Micah 2:1).
And then He tells us why He hates it.
...At morning light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand (Micah 2:1).
In other words, once someone plans evil, acting on it becomes the natural next step.
Even in our own court systems, planned criminal activity carries a more serious punishment.
For example, when someone plans the murder of another person, that’s first-degree murder—and it brings a far greater penalty.
Planning and thinking on wickedness was one of the very things the preflood world was condemned for.
Every intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
And when he was still Lucifer, Satan himself devised plans to fight against God and take His place. He thought it through.
“I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation… I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13).
A heart that plans evil is a heart that has drifted away from God.
Psalm 36 says:
He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil (Psalm 36:4).
Ultimately, God wants us to abhor evil and keep our heart away from wickedness, which is why He hates a heart that devises evil plans.
If you ask God to help you abhor evil, He’ll grant your petition and provide the help you need.
5. God Hates Feet That Are Swift in Running to Evil
The fifth thing God hates, listed in Proverbs 6 is “Feet that are swift in running to evil.”
This describes people who do not hesitate to do wrong—those who have seared their conscience (1 Timothy 4:1–2).
Paul expands on this, saying they have “their understanding darkened, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:18–19).
When our conscience shuts down, this behavior speeds up.
Of course, Satan was the first to run to evil—and he set his character permanently in that direction. Being “quick to do evil” perfectly describes who he has chosen to become.
When someone is given over to wickedness, he loses the ability to discern right from wrong. And the consequences eventually follow: his life descends into chaos, and he’s profoundly unhappy.
We see this in many who fill our prisons—people who were swift to run to evil, especially evil that also breaks civil laws.
But here’s an important point: A person can be swift to do evil without breaking civil laws.
Evil is simply the breaking of God’s law. Civil legality doesn’t determine righteousness.
A person can be “law-abiding” yet still run full-speed toward sin.
Jeremiah describes this loss of spiritual sensitivity, saying:
They were not at all ashamed, nor did they know how to blush (Jeremiah 8:12).
Those who are quick to do evil have set themselves opposite of God and His ways. They often think they’re free because they’re “doing what they want,” but in reality, they’re slaves of sin. They may try to stop—but find they can’t. They blind themselves and lose discernment. Ultimately, God must grant the freedom of obedience.
6. God Hates a False Witness Who Speaks Lies
Now, the next item in the list is very similar to the “lying tongue” which was the second thing in our list, but it is different.
The sixth thing God hates, listed in Proverbs 6 is “a false witness who speaks lies.”
It’s one thing for someone to lie about their own life—becoming untrustworthy, which already appears earlier in this list, but apparently, God felt it important enough to add lying about or regarding someone else.
- A lie about yourself damages your character.
- A lie about someone else can damage their life.
- A false witness is someone who lies about—or for—another person.
They may claim they saw someone do something they did not do. Or they may provide a false alibi to cover for someone else. Either way, a false witness lies under circumstances in which people depend on them to tell the truth about another individual or situation.
Deuteronomy warns about this directly.
If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing… then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you (Deuteronomy 19:16,19).
Satan acted as a false witness against Job when he accused him before God, claiming Job only obeyed because of a hedge around him and the blessings he received (Job 1).
But we know from the story—this accusation was completely false.
And one of the most infamous examples of false testimony in history is the accusation brought against Jesus Christ Himself.
Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death (Matthew 26:59).
At first, “many false witnesses came forward” but none that would testify to put Him to death.
But at last two false witnesses came forward (Matthew 26:60).
And their testimony led to His execution. Then when Pilate asked:
“What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you” (John 18:29–30).
And Luke records some of their specific claims.
“We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King” (Luke 23:2).
But Pilate saw through the false testimony and said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man” (Luke 23:4). Yet because of their insistence, he gave in.
False witnesses helped take the life of our Lord and Savior. It’s no wonder God hates this sin.
7. God Hates One Who Sows Discord Among Brethren (Meaning Explained)
And the seventh thing God hates, listed in Proverbs 6 is “one who sows discord among brethren.”
This refers to someone who stirs up contention among people who should otherwise be at peace. This could happen within a family, within a friend group, or within the Church.
Unity is precious to God—so anything that fractures it becomes serious.
This characteristic is patterned after Satan the Devil. He sowed discord between Adam and Eve and God in the Garden of Eden when he caused Eve to question God’s command regarding the tree they were not to eat from (Genesis 3).
But that wasn’t even the first time he sowed discord. In his rebellion against God—recorded in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28—he caused a third of the angels to defect and follow him instead of God (Revelation 12:3–4).
Discord isn’t just a bad attitude—it’s satanic leadership in action.
Paul urged the Church in Rome to “note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).
This characteristic is also described in the verses immediately before the list of things God hates.
Causing division is satanic and wicked.
In contrast, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1).
A life in line with God is far better than living against Him.
Why the Seven Things God Hates Lead to Sudden Destruction | Proverbs 6:12–15
Now, let’s listen to the verses immediately preceding the list of behaviors God hates. This is what God thinks about these things.
A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy (Proverbs 6:12-15).
Ultimately, if a person hardens their heart and refuses to repent of sin, they are in a very dangerous place. They are in danger of committing the unforgivable sin.
To learn about the one sin that can’t be forgiven, watch this next video. You’ll be glad you did.
