We also read in Psalms 139 how David hates those who hate the Lord. What’s that about?
Sometimes the words we read are not what we think they are.
When we speak of hate, we tend to mean a cruel and negative disposition that that makes the other seem repulsive and even less than human to us. Jesus warns us that even just to be angry with someone without cause, puts us in danger of judgment; and if we call someone a fool, in danger of hellfire. Hatred is a whole other level of bad. But not when God hates.
God’s hatred is not an emotional reaction; it is not an expression of a desire to hurt anyone. It is a statement of fact that reflects the consequence of our behaviour, an expression of the eternal law that no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God (see 1 Nephi 10:21). It defines His rejection.
So, what that Old Testament scripture means is, simply, "Jacob, I have chosen, but Esau, I have rejected."
Hatred in the scriptures also represents being in the position of an enemy. In Psalms 139, when David writes that he hates those who hate the Lord, what he explains is that he counts God’s enemies as his enemies. In regard to what God hates, this brings to my mind the phrase that the natural man is an enemy to God (Mosiah 3:19).
Ultimately, I recognize that God’s hatred is not a consequence of His acts or decisions, but mine. If God hates me, if I am rejected by Him, it is because I have put myself on that side of the line.
We had a conversation once with a couple about parenting. They appeared to feel quite righteous extolling the virtue of ignoring vice, of not imposing consequences for a child’s behaviour or choices, based on what they called “unconditional love.” This was because, they said, this is the way that God loves us. I'm not convinced that what they were talking about is God’s unconditional love or how it actually works.
Of course, God does love us unconditionally, but I believe that fact takes us nowhere near the principle of “therefore, anything goes”.
Some people (though, not many who have actually been parents) think that disciplining a child is not loving them. In my experience, those same people often resent God’s discipline, if they even recognize it.
Now, let me point out that, of course, there are unloving ways to discipline a child, and there are actions done out of anger, frustration, fear, or other kinds of ignorance, that are neither truly discipline nor truly love. And I am pretty sure I made all of those mistakes, and more; but my failures don’t prove the principle wrong; they only confirm that I was.
As for God, well, those aren’t mistakes He makes. And God also does one other brilliant thing that more of us parents need to do -- He tells us ahead of time exactly what sorts of things will get us into trouble. As set out by the writer of Proverbs:
These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look,
a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies,
and he that soweth discord among brethren.
The first was a proud look. There are some clear examples of this in the scriptures.
Alma said, “And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions? Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and…he must repent or he cannot be saved.”
Then there were those Nephites and Lamanites who were the descendants of those who had seen the resurrected Lord, but after just a few generations, we are told, “there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride… and they began to be divided into classes.”
Whether it shows up as selfish or bullying behaviour or simple disregard for another’s needs, the pride that makes us look down on others, or think better of ourselves, is the foundation of serious sin that separates us from the grace of God. As the early members of this Church were warned by Joseph Smith, “Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!”
I suspect the same might could be true for everyone who lets an “ism” word – racism, sexism, agism, ablism, nationalism, chauvinism, and even patriotism – get between them and simply loving and respecting others.
Numbers two and six, I put together: a lying tongue and a false witness that speaketh lies: These sound the same but are slightly different.
On the one hand, to have a lying tongue might not mean to tell lies exactly. When our tongues are not tame, as Brigham Young put it, we can too easily speak evil, even if we don’t intend it. Jesus told us to avoid saying more than ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ when we want to express our thoughts on a matter. Too often, we say too much. Anyone who knows me, knows how well practiced I am with this sin.
When we speak too much of what is in our minds, at least some of it will be untrue, because we are. And when we speak too much based on what we feel, without exercising self-control or forethought, we will often say things we would wish we hadn't, especially when we discover that double-edged truth: That words have as much power to hurt and destroy as to help and uplift; or, as the writer of Proverbs also said, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
Bearing false witness, on the other hand, is a more deliberate act of intentional deception. It requires a false confession, real lies. But I think there is also a more subtle dimension to this one that is of special relevance to us in the Church.
I don’t think we need any examples of lies. We know them when we say them, and we mostly try not to. But there are cases of bearing false witness that we might be more inclined to let slide. The one I’d like to mention probably happens here at church, possibly at this pulpit, when someone stands up, like me now, and says something like “I know” when really they only think, believe, or hope that what they say is true.
Now, my comments on this topic are my personal reflections, based on my own experience, and are not accusations about any specific person here or elsewhere. Also, I am not saying that there are not those among us who actually do know certain truths of the gospel. In fact, I know there are. However, having seen friends fall away from the Church and gospel after expressing the most confident of testimonies, I am inclined to suggest we need to be more careful about this one.
I also want to say that I doubt God hates this sort of thing as much as certain other kinds of deception; but I also am inclined to believe He hopes for better from us.
I think we can afford to be entirely honest with one another. I think we don’t need to feel any kind of peer pressure that might make us think we have to pretend that our testimonies are stronger or more certain than they actually are.
I do know some things. I know my own experiences, feelings and impressions. Some of them influence me to have a strong conviction of the reality of God’s presence, His love and His concern for us. Some of what I can only describe as spiritual experiences have directly affected the thoughts of my mind and the feelings in my heart. I have felt a spiritual energy move through a room like the wind, converting people to belief or to a desire to believe in Jesus Christ. I have witnessed what I would call miracles, answers to prayers, and other events that seem inexplicable unless they were caused by the will and power of an unseen friend. So, I know what I have seen, and heard, and felt, and it is in part because of the consistency of those experiences, and those that others have shared with me, that I believe with a fervent heart that God lives, that He loves us, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Saviour, who created this world for us, and came to live upon it, to suffer and die for ours sins, and that he rose again bringing about our triumph over death and spiritual destruction.
I am quick to acknowledge that what I know and what I believe are not identical things; and I am quite content to say to my Lord, “I believe; help thou my unbelief”. I like to remind myself occasionally that many of the most confident testimonies expressed in the Book of Mormon, were those that were spoken on the Rameumptom as examples of a false and unfirm faith.
The third abomination is hands that shed innocent blood.
This doesn’t require much explanation, and I really hope that none of us here are guilty of it. But I think it’s good for us to remember how this commandment was expressed to Joseph Smith: “Thou shalt not… kill, nor do anything like unto it.”
Is it like unto killing to break a heart? Is it like unto killing to destroy someone’s hope? Is verbal or physical abuse like it? What about bullying?
Most of us will never knowingly shed innocent blood; but I fear that many might do things that are like it. In none of that will God find any joy. “Behold these thy brethren,” God said to Enoch, “…they are without affection, and they hate their own blood. …Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them.”
It’s hard to imagine heaven feels much differently about number four, feet that rush toward mischief.
I believe that if we rush toward evil, it’s because we like it. But, you know, God’s really good about forgiving people for doing wrong when they don’t know any better but really wish they did. He’s even pretty good about overlooking us giving into temptation, when we sincerely regret it and try to change. But if we do something bad because we want to, and don’t really care about the consequences, well, what’s God got to like about that? And we know, more or less, what the outcome of that will be:
... how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—…Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken. |
In our recent Sunday School readings, we reviewed how Satan led Cain into a “secret combination,” that resulted in him murdering his brother; and those who followed him kept those secret oaths as they made plans to steal wealth or power from others. For his part in all that, Cain was punished with the total loss of all eternal blessings. (See all of Moses chapter 5.)
Cain’s example is one most of us will likely never be inclined to follow. But is there a spouse who hides money from their partner? Is there a child who sneaks cookies into their room at night? Have you ever been tempted to dine and dash? Have you been tempted not to tell the cashier when you’ve been given too much change? Do you ever use “weasel words” to avoid an unwanted conversation? Do you take credit for things you haven’t done, especially if it gets you praise or maybe a promotion? Do you sacrifice truth to make a sale?
Not every case of scheming – in business, in romance, or in any relationship – is necessarily truly wicked, but many of these examples can be, especially if, as with the sin of Priestcraft, it is done to get some advantage or benefit over, or from, or at the expense of, others.
Lastly, number seven in the list of things God hates, is someone who stirs up discord amongst brethren or, in other words, who causes conflict in the community:
Trouble-makers;
rabble rousers;
gossips;
fault finders;
the contentious;
the disputatious;
the argumentative;
the know-it-all;
the show-off;
the critic;
the complainer;
the whiner;
the manipulator.
It's a long list.
But Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
King Benjamin said that when we truly feel the love of God, we will be people who do “not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably.”
The Apostle Paul spoke of these things often, warning the Corinthians against “debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, [and] tumults,” and he warned the Romans about the “reprobate mind… Being filled with all unrighteousness, … covetousness, maliciousness… envy, …debate, … whisperers, Backbiters, …despiteful, …boasters, inventors of evil things, …Without understanding, … without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.” And to the Colossians he simply advised, “If any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
In a recent General Conference, Elder Holland said, “The promise of being a peacemaker is that you will have the Holy Ghost for your constant companion and blessings will flow to you ‘without compulsory means’ forever.”
And in a General Conference from October, 2002, then Elder Nelson counselled,
As individuals, we should ‘follow after the things which make for peace.’ We should be personal peacemakers. We should live peacefully—as couples, families, and neighbors. We should live by the Golden Rule. … We should employ [the lessons taught in the Bible and The Book of Mormon\ and expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family. We should bring divine love and revealed doctrines of restored religion to our neighbors and friends. We should serve them according to our abilities and opportunities. We should keep our principles on a high level and stand for the right. …By so living, our Master will bless us. |
In the end, there is no reason for us to be hated, or rejected, by the Lord. It will be the nature of our choices, the consistency of our faith, and the degree of our obedience, that will put us on the right or wrong side of that line.
I leave these thoughts and my testimony of God’s love for us, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.