” ‘I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.’ ” (Proverbs 8:12-13)
What do you hate? What do you truly loathe deep in your spirit? God wants us to get in touch with our dark sides. He wants us to learn how to hate deeply and honestly. He wants us to get to the point where our vision blurs a little and our stomach roils at the thought of “pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”
In short, God wants us to hate sin. Most of us are lousy haters. We might talk casually about hating certain foods, music, TV shows, or even a teacher or a boss. But we don’t mean real hate; we mean those things annoy us or make us angry.
Wisdom’s message to us is this: If you really understood life from God’s perspective — if you caught a glimpse of the beauty and power of His holiness and love — the ugliness of sin (especially your own) would send your soul into a murderous rage. Your hate would make you want to kill your sin.
Think: Have you ever felt real hate toward your own sin? Would you want to?
Pray: Ask God to help you to fear Him enough to hate your own sin.
Do: Read Proverbs 4.