We have already seen that God hates a lying tongue. While a false witness has a lying tongue, his lying is more sinister than the average liar. His lies are meant to hurt. God hates everything about false testimony. The one who is guilty of such has no honor and is deficient in the area of love. Even sinful man recognizes the terrible nature of bearing false testimony against someone. “At Athens the false witness was liable to a heavy fine, and if thrice convicted lost all his civil rights. At Rome, by a law of the Twelve Tables, he was hurled headlong from the Tarpeian rock. In Egypt, a false witness was punished by amputation of the nose and ears” (The Pulpit Commentary). With this being man’s treatment of the false witness, based on an understanding of the vile nature of this crime, how could we expect God, who is love (1 John 1:8), not to have a hatred for it? Indeed, bearing false witness was a violation of God’s original commandments to Israel (Exodus 20:16).

Bearing false witness is usually done in a court of law, but not always. One can utter false and malicious statements about others in a social setting as well. God hates one as much as the other. Does it matter if we bear false witness without realizing that we are doing so? No, though such an act would be less malevolent than doing so knowingly, it would still demonstrate a lack of love for others and, therefore, be hated by God. It is up to us to determine not to gossip by spreading hurtful information about other people, and then, be sure that we never tell falsehoods of any kind. The best course of action is to follow the teachings of Paul and not allow any corrupt communication to come out of our mouths (Ephesians 4:29). If we simply love others the way God does, we will not inadvertently, or otherwise, bear false witness.

There is one more act that Proverbs six touches upon—sowing discourse. God hates this. In contrast to discord, God loves unity. Psalms 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” This was the prayer of Jesus with regard to His disciples (John 17:20-22), and it was the plea of Paul when he wrote to the divided church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10). There are several ways that a person might be a sower of discord.

There are those who are just trouble makers. This is the kind of person who argues with people all the time. He has to have his way, and his opinion has to be the one that always prevails or else he will quarrel about it. He is so contentious that wherever he goes, he leaves discord behind. This is a characteristic that disqualifies a man from being an elder in the Lord’s church (1 Timothy 3:3) because instead of being able to help the people of God, he destroys His temple. Paul warned divisive brethren about this in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and told Titus to teach the church to avoid this behavior (Titus 3:2).

Another way one can be a sower of discord is to teach a perverted gospel. This can be a preacher in a local church, or it can be someone who introduces heresy among the people of God in various private and social settings. The truth has the power to unite, but false doctrine almost always leads to division, and the one guilty of presenting it is a sower of discord. Avoid this behavior. Be a peacemaker, not peace breaker.

Let us do all we can to avoid these things that God hates. Remember, God is not only our Creator and the ruler of all men, He is a loving, compassionate God who sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we could have the hope of eternal life. He is our Father, and we should want to please Him in every way, not do the things that He hates.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.