Proverbs 6 — What Does God Hate?

Alright, beauties, Proverbs 6 is one of those chapters where Solomon is basically sitting us down and saying, “Pay attention. Some of the things you keep calling small can wreck your life.”

This chapter goes everywhere—money, laziness, dishonesty, relationships, sexual temptation—and at first it can almost feel like Solomon is jumping from subject to subject. But I think there’s one thread running through all of it: God is trying to keep us from destroying our lives with choices He already warned us about.

That’s what wisdom does.

God’s Word isn’t sitting on the shelf waiting to make us feel spiritual. It is trying to keep us from walking straight into something that will eventually own us. Proverbs 6:22 says His commands will lead you when you walk, watch over you when you sleep, and talk with you when you wake. I LOVE that. His Word leads. His Word guards. His Word speaks.

But ladies, that only works if we actually know it.

We cannot expect God’s Word to guide decisions we refuse to bring under God’s Word. We cannot live off a verse we saw on Instagram three days ago and wonder why we have no discernment. We have to get this Word down inside of us. Solomon says to bind it on your heart and tie it around your neck. In other words: keep it close. Know what God says before you desperately need to know what God says.

Because Proverbs 6 gets painfully practical. Solomon talks about being careless with money and commitments. He talks about laziness and the person who keeps saying, “A little sleep, a little slumber…” while their life slowly falls apart around them. He talks about dishonest people whose mouths say one thing while their hearts are planning another. Then he talks about sexual temptation and the devastating price of playing with something God told us to run from.

And right in the middle of all of that, Solomon gives us a list I don’t think we should rush past. There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him. Those are strong words.

We love talking about what God loves—and we should. God is love. God is merciful. God is gracious. But Scripture is also crystal clear that because God loves, there are things He hates. He hates what destroys people He loves. He hates what corrupts hearts, tears apart relationships, destroys trust and brings division.

And before we start reading this list thinking about everybody who has hurt us, maybe we should pull our chair a little closer and ask God to search us.

God hates haughty eyes. Pride. Looking down on people. Thinking we’re better, wiser, more spiritual or somehow above correction. And ladies, pride isn’t always loud. Sometimes pride looks like refusing to apologize. Always needing to be right. Getting defensive when someone corrects us. Thinking everybody else is the problem while never asking God, Could it be me?

He hates a lying tongue. And before we say, Well, I’m not a liar, let’s go deeper. Half-truths. Leaving out the part that makes us look bad. Exaggerating someone else’s behavior. Changing the story depending on who we’re telling it to. Saying, “I’m fine,” while secretly punishing someone. Presenting a version of events that protects our reputation instead of simply telling the truth. God cares about truth because He IS truth.

He hates hands that shed innocent blood. Most of us are never going to physically murder somebody, but don’t dismiss this one too quickly. Jesus takes hatred seriously. How do we treat people made in God’s image? Do we destroy people with our mouths? Do we assassinate someone’s character because we’re angry? Do we secretly enjoy watching someone who hurt us fall apart? We may never have blood on our physical hands, but we need to let God examine what is happening inside our hearts.

He hates a heart that devises wicked schemes. That’s calculated sin. Sitting around planning how we’re going to manipulate something, get even, make somebody look bad, control an outcome or quietly hurt somebody while keeping our own hands looking clean. That’s not wisdom. That’s wickedness dressed up as strategy.

He hates feet that are quick to rush into evil. That one gets me because sometimes we don’t accidentally stumble into sin—we run toward it. We know that conversation is gossip, and we join it anyway. We know we shouldn’t send the text, but we type it. We know we shouldn’t go back to that relationship, click on that page, entertain that thought, take another drink, spend that money or open that door, but our feet are already moving. Wisdom doesn’t ask, How close can I get without technically sinning? Wisdom asks, How far away from this can I stay?

He hates a false witness who pours out lies. This goes beyond telling a random lie. This is using our words to damage someone else’s reputation. Twisting facts. Making accusations. Repeating something we don’t actually know is true. Telling one side of a story as though it’s the whole story. Ladies, we need to be incredibly careful with people’s names. Once you’ve put something into somebody else’s mind about another person, you can’t always take it back.

And finally, He hates a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Ouch.

Gossip. Group chats. Side conversations. Screenshots. “I’m only telling you so you can pray.” Pulling people onto our side. Whispering about someone instead of talking to them. Keeping an offense alive by retelling it to everybody except the person we’re offended with. God says He hates division being deliberately stirred among His people.

That’s strong.

And maybe we need strong.

Because sometimes we’ve gotten really good at renaming things God already named. We call gossip “venting.” We call pride “having standards.” We call revenge “setting the record straight.” We call manipulation “protecting ourselves.” We call lust “chemistry.” We call greed “wanting better.” We call laziness “waiting for the right time.”

And God says, Call it what I call it.

Then Solomon turns to sexual temptation, and again, there is zero fluff. His message is basically: Do not play with fire and then act shocked when you get burned. Verse 27 asks whether someone can scoop fire into their lap without their clothes being burned. Of course not. That’s the point.

We live in a culture that tells us we should follow whatever feels good, whatever feels authentic, whatever makes us happy in the moment. But God loves us enough to say, That road has an ending, and I can see it even when you can’t. His boundaries aren’t punishment.

They’re protection.

So maybe Proverbs 6 isn’t just a chapter about everything we’re supposed to avoid. Maybe it’s a Father saying, Daughter, I know where that road goes. Listen to Me. Don’t let pride take you there. Don’t let laziness take you there. Don’t let dishonesty take you there. Don’t let bitterness take you there. Don’t let sexual temptation take you there. Don’t let gossip and division take you there. Know My Word. Keep it close. Let it lead you. Because the goal isn’t just knowing Proverbs.

It’s becoming wise.

And wisdom isn’t proven by how many verses we can quote. Wisdom shows up in what we do when nobody is watching, what comes out of our mouths, how we handle money, how we work, how we treat people, what we do with temptation, and whether our everyday lives actually agree with the God we say we love.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY: HIS BLESSINGS!