Holy Scripture repeatedly bears witness to the God of truth who liberates His people by His Word. Jesus identifies Himself as “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, ESV), and He promises that abiding in His word leads to freedom: “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32, ESV). The corollary is solemn. If God is truth, then falsehood is not morally neutral. It is alien to His character and destructive to the well-being of His image-bearers. Jesus unmasks the enemy of souls as “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, ESV). Falsehood fractures communion with God and neighbor. It corrodes trust, distorts reality, and unravels communities.
Proverbs 6:16–19 confronts this reality with unusual rhetorical intensity. The ESV translates:
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”
The passage does not suggest divine caprice. It reveals the moral shape of wisdom and the covenantal character of the God who loves righteousness and hates evil. His hatred is not the irascible irritation of a temperamental deity. Still, the holy opposition of the one true God against all that deforms His creation and destroys the life of His people. To love the Good News of the Gospel is to learn to hate what God hates, precisely because we love what He loves.
This essay will examine the literary form and theological freight of Proverbs 6:16–19, perform close lexical work on the Hebrew terms, connect these themes to the broader witness of the Bible, and finally propose practices that form a truthful people who honor God, love the Church, and embody the freedom of the Gospel.
A Numerical Saying that Climaxes in Communal Damage
The proverb begins with a stylized numerical formula: “six… seven.” This is a known literary device in wisdom literature that serves at least three purposes. First, it aids memorization. Second, it intensifies the rhetorical force by escalating from six to seven. Third, it often places climactic emphasis on the final item in the list. In this case, the seventh item, “one who sows discord among brothers,” gathers the preceding six into their communal consequence: when pride, deceit, violence, scheming, and moral haste flourish, fraternal unity shatters. The list moves from the interior posture of pride (“haughty eyes”) to the outward use of bodily members (tongue, hands, heart, feet), revisits the legal realm of testimony (“false witness”), and culminates in the corporate devastation of the community (“sows discord”). The structure is profoundly pedagogical. Wisdom trains the whole person to love integrity in all the “members” of life for the sake of covenant communion.
The verse also employs terms of maximal moral gravity: “the Lord hates” and these seven are “an abomination to him.” The Hebrew for “abomination” is tôʿēvâ (תּוֹעֵבָה), a term often used for idolatry and practices that fundamentally contradict God’s covenantal holiness. The phrase “to him” is literally “his soul” or “his being” (נַפְשׁוֹ), accentuating personal divine opposition. The wisdom teacher wants hearers to feel the weight: these are not peccadilloes. They are covenant-rupturing behaviors.
Lexical and Theological Exegesis of the Seven
“Haughty eyes” — ʿênayim rāmôth (עֵינַיִם רָמוֹת)
The phrase literally renders “eyes that are high” or “lofty.” The adjective rām (רָם) connotes elevation and, by extension, arrogance. The eyes symbolize perspective and evaluation. “Haughty eyes” are not merely an inward sentiment of pride but a posture of looking down on others an embodied disposition of superiority. Throughout the Bible, God opposes the proud and exalts the humble. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, ESV; cf. 1 Peter 5:5). Pride displaces God with the self and erodes neighbor love. It is therefore fitting that the list begins with a vice that distorts perception and relations before a word is spoken or a hand is lifted.
Theologically, pride is the anti-liturgy of doxology. Instead of ascribing glory to God, the proud seek glory for themselves. Pride lies about reality, saying, “I am the measure of all things.” It is fundamentally untrue and therefore morally disintegrative. In a covenant perspective, pride fractures fellowship, because there can be no communion where the self enthrones itself.
Pastorally, “haughty eyes” call for the discipline of humility, the habit of seeing the world and others with the lowly eyes of Christ who “humbled himself” (Philippians 2:8, ESV). One practical counter-practice is deliberate, concrete honor: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10, ESV). The proud look says, “I am above you.” The Christian gaze says, “You are an image-bearer to be honored.”
“A lying tongue” — leshôn šāqer (לְשׁוֹן שָׁקֶר)
The second item names the organ and the moral act together. The noun šāqer (שָׁקֶר) is “falsehood,” “deception,” or “lie.” The Scriptures treat lying not as a trivial social lubricant but as a soul-destroying, community-dissolving sin. The ESV renders strongly: “A lying tongue.” The moral order is at stake. God is truthful in His being and speech: “God is not man, that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19, ESV). He binds Himself to promises; therefore, falsehood is not a minor defect but an assault on the Creator’s truthful governance.
The New Testament clarifies the dimension of spiritual warfare. Jesus teaches that the Devil “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character” (John 8:44, ESV). Falsehood aligns the heart with the demonic trajectory that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (cf. John 10:10, ESV). The Psalter likewise testifies to the incompatibility of deceit with communion: “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes” (Psalm 101:7, ESV). The stakes are ecclesial and eschatological. Deceit excludes one from the intimate presence of God.
Scripture also attends to restorative possibility and moral clarity. “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape” (Proverbs 19:5, ESV). Judgment is real, but so is cleansing: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). Confession is truth-telling before God. It is the doorway into restored fellowship.
The Church’s ethics of speech are therefore cruciform and communal. “Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25, ESV). The reason is ecclesial bodyhood. Lies tear the body. Truth knits it together.
“Hands that shed innocent blood” — yādayim šōpĕḵôth dām nāqî (וְיָדַיִם שֹׁפְכוֹת דָּם נָקִי)
The third sin is violence against the defenseless. The participle šōpĕḵôth derives from šāphaḵ, “to pour out” or “to shed.” “Innocent blood” translates dām nāqî, blood that is clean, unstained by guilt. Scripture consistently testifies to God’s regard for the innocent and His outrage at bloodguilt. “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15, ESV). The theme emerges early in Proverbs: sinners entice the naive to “lie in wait for blood” (Proverbs 1:11, ESV), but the wise refuse such paths.
The moral logic is rooted in the doctrine of humanity. Human life bears the image of God. Shedding innocent blood is not only an injustice against a neighbor; it is a defilement of the Creator’s image and therefore a direct affront to God. Jesus deepens the commandment’s reach by unveiling the homicidal seed of anger in the heart (cf. Matthew 5:21–22, ESV). The point is not to collapse making space for righteous judgment into sentimentalism, but to trace the trajectory: murder grows from disordered desires and contemptuous speech.
Pastorally, this word calls the Church to be a sanctuary of life and a people of reconciliation. It demands that we resist patterns of harm, protect the vulnerable, and cultivate meekness and patience. The Gospel equips us to confront violence with the peace of Christ.
“A heart that devises wicked plans” — lēv ḥōrēš maḥšĕvōth ʾāwen (לֵב חֹרֵשׁ מַחְשְׁבוֹת אָוֶן)
Here the focus returns to interiority. The verb ḥāraš (חרשׁ) has a concrete meaning, “to plow,” “to engrave,” or “to cut in,” and a figurative meaning, “to devise,” “to plan,” or “to scheme.” The image is vivid. The heart is not a passive reservoir. It is an artisan’s workshop where plans are carved and shaped. The noun maḥšĕvōth are “plans,” and ʾāwen signals “trouble,” “iniquity,” or “wickedness.” In other words, this is not impulsive folly but calculated malice.
Jesus’ teaching confirms the primacy of the heart in moral causality: “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:18, ESV). He continues, listing a familiar catalog: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19, ESV). Proverbs 6 sits within this same moral anthropology. Wicked plans are abominable because they counterfeit God’s wise providence. Instead of crafting works of mercy and justice, the scheming heart chisels instruments of harm.
The pastoral antidote involves both repentance and reformation of desire. The Church does not merely forbid evil planning; it forms a people skilled in goodness. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV). Trust transfers the center of planning from self-sufficiency to Godward dependence. Practices of prayerful discernment, communal counsel, and Scriptural meditation teach the heart to “devise” goodness.
“Feet that make haste to run to evil” — raglāyim memaharōth lārûṣ lārāʿ (רַגְלַיִם מְמַהֲרוֹת לָרוּץ לָרָע)
The fifth item condemns moral impulsivity. The participle memaharōth from mahar means “to hasten,” and rûṣ is “to run.” Evil is not simply done; it is hurried toward. The image evokes eagerness to sin. Such haste rejects deliberation, refuses counsel, and resists the healthy check of conscience. The Apostle Paul, echoing Isaiah, describes the unredeemed state similarly: “their feet are swift to shed blood” (Romans 3:15, ESV). Wisdom slows the feet. It inculcates patience, prudence, and a healthy fear of the Lord.
Spiritual practices that cultivate a non-hasty heart are not decorative. Silence before speech, prayer before decision, and counsel before action are not pious ornaments but safeguards of holiness. Christian freedom is not freedom for haste but freedom for holiness. That requires timeful attention to God and neighbor.
“A false witness who breathes out lies” — yāphîaḥ kĕzābîm ʿēd šāqer (יָפִיחַ כְּזָבִים עֵד שָׁקֶר)
The sixth item appears to repeat the second, but it refines the sphere. The courtroom is in view. The “false witness” (ʿēd šāqer) violates the ninth commandment by perverting justice. The verb yāphîaḥ signifies “to breathe out” or “to puff,” a metaphor for constant, almost effortless emission of deceit. Legal falsehood is uniquely destructive because it weaponizes institutions intended for justice. It enslaves the innocent and empowers the wicked.
Wisdom literature underscores the certainty of divine justice against such perverters of truth. “A false witness will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 19:5, ESV). The ESV’s repetition of “breathes out lies” in both Proverbs 6:17 and 6:19 links the personal vice of lying to its juridical expression. Theologically, this recalls the righteousness of God, who “loves righteousness and justice” (Psalm 33:5, ESV). To corrupt testimony is to counterfeit God’s own judicial faithfulness.
The New Testament records the travesty of false witnesses against Jesus Himself: “At last two came forward and said, ‘This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days’” (Matthew 26:60–61, ESV). The Savior faced a conspiracy of lies so that He might bear our guilt and justify the ungodly. The Church, therefore, must especially hate judicial falsehood. The community of the Gospel is called to protect the weak, defend the truth, and cultivate transparent processes of church discipline with careful corroboration of facts and avoidance of rash judgments.
“One who sows discord among brothers” — ûmĕšalleaḥ mĕdānîm bên ʾāḥîm (וּמְשַׁלֵּחַ מְדָנִים בֵּין אַחִים)
The climactic seventh item identifies the communal catastrophe produced by the preceding vices. The participle mĕšalleaḥ conveys sending or casting abroad. The noun mĕdānîm denotes “strife,” “quarrels,” or “contentions.” The sphere is explicitly familial and covenantal: “among brothers.” The imagery is agricultural and legal at once. Strife is sown like seeds that will grow into a harvest of division; strife is sent forth like poisonous missives that inflame the body. This is the “abomination” that sums the list because it violates the very aim of wisdom, which is the cultivation of righteous, peaceable community under God.
The New Testament carries this forward with intrachurch specificity. “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him” (Titus 3:10, ESV). Paul’s counsel is not impatient; it is protective. The unity of the Church is the fruit of the Spirit’s work through the Gospel of peace. “Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3, ESV) is a calling incompatible with sowing discord. Gossip, slander, and factionalism are not minor missteps. They are seeds of schism that God hates because He loves His Church.
This climactic warning presses the Church toward holy vigilance. Division is not always avoidable. The Gospel divides light from darkness and sometimes requires separation from unrepentant falsehood. Yet Scripture draws a sharp line between principled, truth-bound separation and self-serving divisiveness. The former submits to the Word; the latter manipulates narratives to exalt the self, harm rivals, or seize power. The peacemaker is blessed, not because peace is easy, but because peace is the fruit of truth and love rightly ordered.
Why God Hates What He Hates
Proverbs 6:16–19 not only catalogs vices; it discloses a moral grammar of creaturely life under God. Each item can be gathered into three theological truths.
First, God’s hatred is the face of His holy love turned toward evil. The Lord hates falsehood because He is truth. He hates bloodshed because He is the living God who gives life. He hates proud eyes because He alone is high and lifted up, and the creature’s attempt to rival His glory is a lie that degrades persons and communities. Divine hatred is not arbitrary; it is holy love protecting the good.
Second, sin is integrative and bodily. The list moves through eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet, reminding us that righteousness or wickedness is embodied. The Apostle urges believers to present their “members” to God as instruments of righteousness, not of sin (Romans 6:13, ESV). Wisdom disciples the body: it trains the gaze, governs the tongue, consecrates the hands, reforms the heart’s purpose, and slows the feet. Holiness is not ethereal. It is surprisingly practical.
Third, sin is communal. The closing emphasis on sowing discord signals that the breakdown of truthfulness, humility, and justice culminates in fractured fellowship. Wisdom is for the common good. The collection teaches the Church to weigh the communal consequences of personal vice. Lies are never private. Pride does not remain in a single heart. Violence, haste, and scheming rip the seamless garment of the community.
Truth in the Larger Canon: From Wisdom to Christ
Because truth is central to the Gospel, Proverbs’ ethics usher us to Christ. Jesus is the Truth who speaks truth and sanctifies His people by the truth (cf. John 17:17, ESV). He embodies humility rather than haughty eyes, speaks no deceit, uses His hands to heal rather than to shed blood, sets His heart on the Father’s will, walks in righteousness, bears faithful witness, and gathers rather than scatters. His very life is a refutation of the seven abominations.
By union with Christ, the Spirit conforms the Church to this truth-shaped life. The practical implications are concrete. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up” (Ephesians 4:29, ESV). “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Colossians 3:5, ESV). “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31, ESV). These imperatives are not moralism. They are the Spirit’s summons to live the freedom the Gospel gives.
Practices that Counter What God Hates
If Proverbs 6:16–19 outlines what God hates, wise pastoral theology asks how God forms a people who love what He loves and therefore learn to hate what He hates. Several practices follow.
Cultivating Humility to Cure Haughty Eyes
The counter-virtue to pride is humility. Humility is the truth about God and self. It begins with adoration and leads to service. The Church may practice humility through doxology, intercession for those who wrong us, and intentional acts of honor. Confession of sin, especially public or corporate confession, trains the eyes to look up to God rather than down on neighbors. Scripture assures us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, ESV). Grace is God’s active favor to the lowly. Wisdom, therefore, asks Christians to intersect daily life with the prayer, “Teach me to see others as those for whom Christ died.”
Truth-Telling Habits for a Lying Tongue
Because truth sets free (John 8:31–32, ESV), believers must develop habits of truthful speech. These include slow speech, careful attribution, checking facts before repeating reports, and resisting the seduction of half-truths that serve personal or tribal gain. A Church culture that prizes candor with charity, transparency with prudence, and correction with gentleness will resist the power of deceit.
Liturgy also matters. When worshipers regularly profess creedal truth and confess sin, their tongue practices truth before God and neighbor. Pastoral care can exhort Christians to make amends for lies, to own consequences rather than evade them, and to rebuild trust through consistent honesty. The promise stands: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9, ESV). Confession is the courage to let the light expose deceit.
Peacemaking and the Protection of Life against Bloodshed
“Hands that shed innocent blood” require the Church to be a people of life. This involves advocacy for the vulnerable, the practice of non-retaliation in personal conflict, and the blessing of enemy-love. It also includes the careful stewardship of anger. “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26, ESV) demands that we address wrongs promptly and justly, rather than allow resentment to ferment into harm. Mentoring young Christians in conflict resolution skills, nonviolent communication, and reconciliation practices is a direct way to oppose the seeds that grow into violence.
Discernment to Unmake Wicked Plans
“A heart that devises wicked plans” calls for discerning communities. Christians can adopt rules of life that set rhythms of prayer, Scripture reading, Sabbath, and counsel. Such rhythms give the heart time and space to be remade in Christ. When major decisions arise, wise believers submit plans to spiritual friends and elders. In this way, the Church practices the opposite of scheming secrecy. It learns corporate discernment oriented toward the good.
Slowing the Feet
“Feet that make haste to run to evil” are healed by holy slowness. Practical measures include establishing pause points in daily routines, such as breath prayers before sending messages, stepping away to pray when provoked, and instituting reflection questions before making high-impact decisions. Parents can train children to ask, “Is this wise, true, and loving,” not merely, “Is this allowed.” Such community-wide habits can gently reset the pace of life away from sinful haste.
Safeguarding Testimony
To resist “a false witness who breathes out lies,” churches must guard processes of testimony. This involves requiring multiple witnesses for serious allegations, distinguishing accusation from evidence, and avoiding the sin of slander masked as “concern.” The biblical standard is serious because the consequences are serious. When matters of discipline arise, the Church must be slow and fair, combining compassion for victims with due care for the accused. Faithful shepherding protects the reputation of Christ and the integrity of the Church.
Sowing Peace where Discord Was Sown
Because the seventh item climaxes the list, peacemaking deserves sustained attention. Sowing peace is not the same as peacekeeping at any cost. It is the Christ-shaped work of telling the truth in love, refusing gossip, and confronting divisive persons with patience and courage. Believers are called to be reconcilers, repairing breaches with forgiveness, restitution, and renewed covenantal bonds. The wisdom teacher’s warning against sowing discord becomes a positive summons: become a sower of peace among brothers and sisters.
The Bracing Clarity of Consequences and the Greater Clarity of Grace
The Scriptures are frank about the consequences of deceit and discord. “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape” (Proverbs 19:5, ESV). Sin is not a game without stakes. Relationships fracture, institutions corrode, and souls are harmed. Yet the Bible offers even greater clarity about grace. The Gospel proclaims that Christ died for the ungodly, including the proud, the deceitful, and the divisive, in order to reconcile them to God and to one another. The righteousness that God requires, He also gives in Christ.
This is why confession is not humiliation but liberation. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). Cleansing is not the suspension of moral reality but the re-creation of the sinner by the Spirit. Those who have lied may become truth-tellers. Those who have sown discord may become peacemakers. Those whose feet hastened to evil may become carriers of good news. In this sense, Proverbs 6:16–19 functions evangelically for the wise. It exposes so that grace can heal. It names so that the Gospel can be renamed.
Bringing the Whole Passage Together
When we gather the seven together, a portrait emerges of the person God delights not to see and the community God refuses to bless. The proud gaze disrupts the posture of worship. The lying tongue disfigures the speech of communion. The violent hand destroys life. The scheming heart counterfeits providence. The hasty feet resist prudence. The false witness corrupts justice. The sower of discord undoes brotherhood. The Church that hears this must ask: where are these tendencies present among us, in seed or in full bloom, and how shall we repent?
The solution is not moral resolve alone but spiritual renovation. God hates these seven because they unmake the very goods the Gospel gives. The Son came so that we would see truly, speak truthfully, act justly, will righteously, walk slowly in wisdom, testify faithfully, and preserve the unity of the Church in love. He is Himself the antitype of the list: lowly in heart, whose mouth spoke only what the Father gave Him to speak, whose hands touched lepers and raised the dead, whose heart delighted to do the Father’s will, whose feet turned toward the cross, whose testimony was “the good confession,” and who, by His blood, “has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14, ESV).
Practical Liturgies for a Truthful People
To move from exegesis to formation, consider seven practices corresponding to the seven abominations, each grounded in the ESV’s teaching.
Against haughty eyes, practice adoration and honor. Begin daily prayer by adoring God’s perfections, naming attributes such as truthfulness, mercy, and holiness. Consciously honor someone each day for the grace of God seen in them. This trains the gaze to look up to God and across to neighbors with love rather than down with disdain.
Against a lying tongue, practice examined speech. Before speaking about another, ask: Is it true, necessary, and charitable? Measure words by Ephesians 4:25 and 4:29 (ESV). Build a habit of prompt correction when you discover that you have repeated false information.
Against violent hands, practice protection. Offer your strength for others’ good. Volunteer in ministries that care for the vulnerable. Refuse the logic of contempt in personal conflict and instead pursue reconciliation, as in Matthew 5 and 18 (ESV).
Against a scheming heart, practice communal discernment. Submit major plans to wise counsel. Let Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV) be literal: acknowledge the Lord in all your ways. Keep a discernment journal that records how God is straightening your paths, contrasting your initial desires with Spirit-led outcomes.
Against hasty feet, practice a holy pause. Build structural pauses into routines. Do not send critical messages without a night’s sleep. Use short breath prayers such as “Lord, have mercy” to slow the heart’s pace before speaking or acting.
Against false witness, practice rigorous fairness. In disputes, require multiple, corroborated witnesses for serious accusations, as Scripture commands. Discourage gossip by calling people to speak directly to those involved. Uphold both compassion and justice.
Against sowing discord, practice active peacemaking. Treat unity as a good to be pursued, not assumed. Engage quickly in mediation when tensions rise. Refuse to triangulate. Celebrate reconciliations publicly to set a culture of peace.
Each of these is not merely a therapeutic technique. Each is a Gospel-shaped liturgy that habituates the body, reforms the heart, and strengthens the bonds of the Church.
A Word to Wounded Hearts and Fractured Relationships
The user’s prompt rightly underscores the personal and relational toll of deceit and discord. Many readers carry scars from broken trust, false accusations, or communities undone by prideful power plays. Scripture does not trivialize your pain. It names it. It promises that the Judge of all the earth will do right. It also promises healing. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3, ESV). The power of the Gospel is not only juridical but reparative. Where truth has been betrayed, Christ can rebuild. Where discord has been sown, the Spirit can cultivate peace. Where humiliation and shame have grown, the Father can bestow honor.
This is why the Bible can both warn and woo. Psalm 101:7 (ESV) declares that “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house,” yet the Gospel promises that sinners cleansed by the blood of Christ are welcomed into the very household of God. The same Scripture that warns that the false witness will not escape (Proverbs 19:5, ESV) invites that witness to repent, confess, and be cleansed. Both truths are necessary. The Church must never excuse sin, and it must never despair of grace.
Loving What God Loves by Learning to Hate What He Hates
Proverbs 6:16–19 offers the Church a searching diagnosis and a liberating call. God’s hatred in this text is the other side of His love for truth, life, justice, humility, prudence, faithful testimony, and unity. To be a Biblical people is to be a people of truth, which means we must oppose lying in ourselves and our communities. To be a Gospel people is to be a reconciled people, which means we must expose and refuse sowing discord. The ESV renders the passage with bracing clarity because the Holy Spirit aims to form a clear-eyed, truthful, peaceable Church.
Jesus Christ, the Truth, frees us by His Word. He calls us out of haughty self-exaltation into humble worship. He converts our tongues from falsehood to truth. He consecrates our hands for healing and service. He engraves new plans upon our hearts by His Spirit. He orders our feet for the paths of righteousness. He makes us faithful witnesses. He gathers us into one body, teaching us to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Therefore, let us respond to Proverbs 6:16–19 with both seriousness and hope. With seriousness, because to trifle with what God calls abomination is to trifle with our souls and the well-being of the Church. With hope, because the Gospel is stronger than our sins, and grace is mightier than our failures. Let us confess where we have lied, repent where we have sown discord, and seek reconciliation where relationships have been torn. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to conform us to the character of Christ so that our eyes, tongues, hands, hearts, feet, testimonies, and communal life bear witness to the truth that sets free. And let us cling to the promise: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart… In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV).
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