“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.”
Proverbs 6:16-17 ESV
The writer uses a Hebrew construction, a numeral plus one, to indicate the Lord’s ultimate displeasure with the items in the list.
Note the connection between the heart and the thoughts. This is the person who sits around plotting wicked actions. He may not carry them out, but he crafts detailed plans of how to steal something, or embarrass that person, or how to wreck that company or, or, or. These thoughts – even without the actions necessary to fulfill them – reflect the heart. Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).
Don’t be fooled into thinking, “It’s okay to devise such plans as long as I don’t do them.” This type of thinking not only reflects an ungodly heart, it also defiles the person. Paul offers some helpful words in this regard,
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Philippians 4:8 ESV
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