If I claim to be a person trying to live out my faith, if I talk up the teachings of the Bible as the foundation to my life, then it behooves me to pay attention to certain markers I find in scripture. One involves the things God loves, like a cheerful giver. On the opposite extreme simmer those things God hates.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hand that shed innocent blood, a heart the devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

While I could get lost digging into this list (which I did for a bit in one of my commentaries), I notice that lying—telling falsehoods—makes an appearance twice.

First, a lying tongue, which brings to mind a deceiver or betrayer. Then a few lines later, a false witness, leaning toward perjury, or deception in an official sense.

While everything on this list is hateful to the Lord, I tend to look at the worst and skip over the rest. I wasn’t out last night shedding innocent blood. But aspects of not telling the truth appearing twice raises red flags.

Where do I tend to be less than totally truthful? Where am I hesitant to speak the truth in love? When do I hold my tongue to my benefit? Do I share congratulations for a job well done with those who helped behind the scenes? I rarely tell out-and-out-lies, but the temptation to shade the truth toward my gratification always exists. And I sense the Lord’s displeasure in such practices.

We encounter a loving, caring God in the scriptures. But God wouldn’t be all-loving without hating the actions that hurt the people he created. So it’s worth a few minutes of contemplation, with the Holy Spirit alongside, to sift through a list of such insights.

Proverbs 6 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Muhammad Daudy

As a young man I thought I hit on a fool-proof way to stamp the Lord’s approval on my areas of interest. I hatched my plan from this passage in Proverbs:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

My interpretation? If I trust God, he will carve paths straight to where I want to go in life. If I do this for God, then he is obligated to do that for me. It felt like a lever to move the Almighty.

I approach God this way because I interact with people this way. I lean toward others to help them, but at times also subtly maneuvering them toward my desires. This heart of deceit is as old as the serpent whispering to Eve, who manipulated Adam, who tried to hide from the Lord.

Proverbs also says your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines your paths. My game of quid pro quo with the Lord yielded unintended consequences. In the original plan, I carved the path and the Lord blessed it. As things worked out, the Lord directed me along paths of his choosing. And you know what? I’m so happy he did.

All along I meant to follow paths to peace and prosperity. However, those roads actually belong to God, and they require a toll—submission to the Lord. Not simply a head nod, but deep acknowledgement of the Lord’s kingship over me.

It’s the wisest decision you’ll ever make, and once that’s settled you can wander his paths and enjoy the journey laid before you.

Proverbs 3 & 5 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Patrick Fore

I stumbled up a path criss-crossed with tree roots and winding through dense trees. No moon shining, the blackness forced me to shuffles and curses. Then a friend came along with a flashlight (pre-cell phone era) and I stepped confidently again.

Sometimes we walk a path in the darkness. The psalmist experienced such days, dealing with deceitful and unjust people, all while feeling God’s distance. His prayer in this frustrating time strikes me:

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

In the midst of anguish and injustice, the psalmist prayed for more of the Lord, for the light of truth. He asked the Lord to show up in bold and inexplicable ways—a light no one would miss.

When darkness crowds in here’s a better prayer than just asking for relief. Praying for the light and truth of God to illumine both my life and those around me clears a path for all of us.

Psalm 43 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Lucas Hoang

The last several months I’ve been part of a team of people from my church helping resettle two families of Afghan refugees. In fear for their lives due to their work as security guards at a U.S. airbase, these young parents fled with children in tow to start over in Colorado.

None of the group speaks or reads English. As I observe them settle in, I see their need to understand the language. We track down translators to help them as much as possible, like at the bank or with job interviews, but help is not available most of the time. Working to learn English remains priority one—it’s the beginning of a successful life in this country.

In the same way, if I want to seek knowledge, if I hope to understand instruction and gain wisdom, then I should know where to start. It’s not the internet, and it’s not the great universities of this land. Rather, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

These words of Solomon, the wisest of all kings, reverberate through the ages. To fear the Lord, to acknowledge his rule in my life, to respect his hand and to live his ways start me on the path towards a truly successful life. Maybe not as a social media influencer, but as a person of depth and character.

To live in a place where the language is inaccessible creates severe challenges. To hope for wisdom in life without the fear of the Lord means I’ve chosen a severe path. Don’t join the foolish crowd. Turn toward the Lord and his way of knowledge.

Proverbs 1:7 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Ivan Shilov